Mumbai: Armed with bells, manjeeras (conflict cymbals) and a number of different musical devices, the opposition in Maharashtra staged a blaring demonstration on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur Tuesday, demanding the resignation of state minister Abdul Sattar.
The MLA from Aurangabad’s Sillod, Sattar is the second minister from the faction of the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to run afoul of the opposition over alleged irregularities in land allotment. Earlier this month, the opposition was gunning for Shinde’s resignation citing the Bombay Excessive Courtroom’s remark regarding him within the NIT plots case.
Agriculture minister Sattar landed beneath the scanner after an order by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC discovered “prima facie price” in claims that he allegedly sanctioned unlawful regularisation of 37 acres of grazing (gairan) land regardless of a 2011 Supreme Courtroom order prohibiting such actions.
The land in query is claimed to be valued at Rs 150 crore and the regularisation is claimed to have taken place when Sattar was a junior minister within the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) authorities.
Citing the HC order, the opposition staged a novel demonstration Tuesday on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan, singing people songs to accuse Shinde and Sattar of corruption. The demonstration was led by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Ambadas Danve, who can be Chief of Opposition (LoP) within the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
Taking a cue from what his cupboard colleague Deepak Kesarkar advised the media, Sattar assured reporters that he would deal with the allegations levelled towards him on the ground of the Home, which he’s but to do.
The Bombay HC, whereas ordering an interim keep on the allotment Thursday, had directed Sattar and the state income division to file their replies by 11 January. Asking how “public utility land/gairan land was allowed to be usurped by personal people”, the bench noticed that the PIL delivered to its discover “one thing, which has the potential of shaking the general public confidence within the system of governance of the State”.
The order got here barely every week after the bench pulled up CM Shinde for allegedly allotting over 4.5 acres of land in Nagpur reserved for slum dwellers to 16 personal people at a ‘throwaway’ value throughout his tenure as city growth minister within the earlier MVA authorities, regardless of the matter being sub-judice.
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What’s the case towards Sattar
On 22 December, a division bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and Mahendra Chandwani handed an order on a Public Curiosity Litigation (PIL) by Shyam Nivrutti Deole and lawyer Santosh Dattarya Pophale, saying it discovered “prima facie price” in allegations towards Sattar.
The petitioners declare {that a} determination by Sattar, then Minister of State (MoS) for Income, on 17 June — days earlier than the autumn of the MVA authorities — resulted in illegal regularisation of public utility land measuring 37 acres and 19 gunthas (40 gunthas make one acre) in favour of a personal particular person in Vidarbha’s Washim district.
The regularisation, mentioned the PIL, was sanctioned after mentioned individual’s declare was “outrightly rejected by the Civil appellate court docket”. Counsel for the petitioner went additional to quote the 2011 SC judgement within the Jagpal Singh vs State of Punjab case, the place the highest court docket dominated that no public utility land/gairan land may be regularised and allotted to a person.
On its half, the Maharashtra authorities had in July 2011 issued a authorities decision (GR) to acknowledge the SC verdict that learn: “There’s a full prohibition on the switch of gairan lands to personal people or our bodies though such switch has been permitted in favour of the central authorities or departments of state authorities for goal of implementing authorities schemes or for public utility.”
The HC in its order issued Thursday mentioned it prima facie discovered that the “impugned order has been handed by not contemplating in any method the observations of the Further District Choose.”
As well as, the bench mentioned Sattar did not have in mind the precedent laid down by the SC in 2011 or the state authorities’s GR on this regard, apart from being conscious of the civil court docket’s decree for the reason that Washim district collector had introduced the dismissal of the personal individual’s go well with to his discover.
The court docket additionally noticed that the Washim district collector, having realised the illegality of the order, had written to the state chief secretary on 5 July informing him that the choice would quantity to contempt of court docket.
“We discover that the problem raised on this petition, which places a query mark over the style through which the general public utility land/gairan land is allowed to be usurped by personal people, requires consideration by this Courtroom,” learn the order.
The HC ordered an interim keep on the operation of Sattar’s determination until 11 January and directed the petitioners to deposit Rs 50,000 inside three weeks as a precondition to listen to the PIL and to indicate their bona fides.
Sattar — no stranger to controversies
Agriculture minister within the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra authorities, Sattar isn’t any stranger to political controversies.
In November, he was reportedly requested by CM Shinde to concern a public apology for utilizing ‘abusive language’ towards Nationalist Congress Celebration (NCP) MP Supriya Sule. Sattar, whereas sustaining that he didn’t abuse Sule, later mentioned he was “really sorry” if his phrases harm any girl.
Earlier, experiences hinted that within the months following Shinde’s swearing-in, Sattar had allegedly misbehaved with a senior staffer within the chief minister’s workplace over a delay in not clearing a file.
Sattar’s identify additionally appeared in reference to the Maharashtra Instructor Eligibility Take a look at (TET) rip-off after a report by The Indian Categorical revealed that the names of his daughters had been discovered within the checklist of 293 candidates who didn’t change their marks, however “managed to get faux TET qualification certificates”.
Referring to the allegations towards Sattar, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA Aaditya Thackeray advised reporters exterior the Vidhan Bhavan Tuesday, “We have now all of the paperwork and proof to show his misdeeds, be it the TET rip-off or objectionable remarks towards NCP MP Supriya Sule.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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