Will take action on Dhingra panel's findings on Vadra: Khattar

Action will be taken on the findings of Justice S N Dhingra commission that probed alleged irregularities in grant of land licences to a firm owned by Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Khattar said on Friday.

He denied the Congress’ allegation that the Commission’s report was leaked and said the court should take cognisance of the matter.

His response came after a media report claimed that Vadra had been indicted by the commission for making unlawful profits in a land deal in 2008.

Khattar noted that the court has not given permission to make public the report of the commission, formed by his government after coming to power in October 2014.

The commission was asked to probe alleged irregularities in grant of licences by the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government for development of colonies, housing societies and commercial complexes in four Guragon villages. Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality is among the firms under scanner.

“Once the report is made public and something comes out, it will be a matter of investigation,” the chief minister said.

“Details” of the commission’s findings were published by a daily on Friday which cited people familiar with the report. According to them, ‘there was collusion aimed at benefiting Vadra’s company’.

The commission has sought an inquiry into properties bought by Vadra, Priyanka Gandhi’s husband, and his businesses, it claimed.

Reacting to it, Khattar said that if at all such a thing comes up, it will be a matter of probe.

Priyanka had on Thursday released a statement saying her finances had nothing to do with those of her husband or his company Skylight Hospitality, which had made controversial land deals with realty major DLF.

The statement from Priyanka’s office came after a query was made to Vadra asking whether a portion of the money he had received from the DLF was used by his wife to buy properties in Faridabad in Haryana.

The statement mentioned about Priyanka Gandhi having bought five acres of agricultural land in village Amipur in Faridabad district for Rs 15 lakh on April 28, 2006, six years prior to the purported land deal involving Skylight Hospitality.

The commission had submitted its 182-page report to Khattar on August 31, 2016.

The contents of the report are yet to be made public by the state government which had given an undertaking in the Punjab and Haryana high court not to release the report until directed by the court.

Former chief minister Hooda had petitioned the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the panel and had accused the government of resorting to political vendetta.

It was during hearing of Hooda’s petition that the state government had told the court that it will not make the report public.

Recently, the Haryana government submitted the commission’s inquiry report to the apex court in a sealed cover following a direction to this effect.

The apex court had asked to furnish the report while adjudicating a batch of appeals relating to acquisition of land and its allocation to various private parties for residential and commercial establishments.

IMAGE: Robert Vadra.