Kindly note that I am not supporting her earlier doings whose legality is being examined by the courts but to keep the record straight it is necessary to know that it has nothing to do with her misuse of office as Governor of Gujarat.
Read, the following report from the same paper :
Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot, however, defended Beniwal.
"She has contributed to Rajasthan's development as cabinet minister and as deputy chief minister in the past. As Gujarat governor she appointed a Lokayukta there to uphold the Constitution. The BJP-led Union government has removed her as Mizoram governor on baseless charges due to political vendetta," Pilot said.
The land grab charges against Beniwal were highlighted by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya last year in the run-up to the assembly elections. The matter pertains to 384 bigha (nearly 218.34 acres) of government land allotted to one Kisan Samuhik Krishi Sahkari Samiti Limited (farmers' cooperative society) at a cost of Rs 25 per acre for collective farming at Jhotwara on the city's outskirts in 1953.
Kamla, who entered politics in 1954 at the age of 27 years and went on to become the state's first woman minister the same year, became a member of this cooperative society in 1970. The society got the land on a 20-year-lease, which was later extended to 25 years.
The lease, as such, expired in 1978 and, as per the agreement, the land's ownership stood transferred to the state government. The government earmarked 221 bigha from the original 384 bigha for the Kardhani and Prithviraj Nagar residential schemes in October 1999. Since the land already stood transferred to the government in 1978, the society members had no right to claim compensation in lieu of the "land acquisition".
Yet, 15% of the 'developed land' (209 residential plots) was returned to the society members as compensation. It is alleged in court that this was done to benefit Beniwal and the other influential members of the society. She was revenue minister in the earlier Ashok Gehlot government (1998-2003).
According to the complainant in court, the society's original members had been elbowed out and influential people had taken over its reins. They allegedly manipulated society rules to distribute the land among themselves. Each member is alleged to have received seven plots in compensation.
BJP leader Somaiya alleged that Kamla and other members claimed to have worked on the land as "farm labourers" working for 14 to 15 hours a day for 58 years to get hold of 209 plots of land as compensation.
