The bone of contention is a 14,600 sq m plot of land, worth approximately Rs 20 crore as per current market rates, in Vadodara's upmarket Old Padra Road. The land was part of the government-run Vaccine Institute and had been reserved since 1963. The first decision to re-grant the land to the original owners (or their heirs) was taken by the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) government on June 10, 1997, reportedly under pressure from Independent legislator Madhu Srivastava from Waghodia constituency in Vadodara district.

But sources say a deal had been struck even before the RJP came to power, in which Srivastava would mobilise other Independents for Shankersinh Vaghela's bid to topple the BJP ministry. In return, the RJP would revert the land to the owners.

Whencontacted, Vaghela said: ``Madhu Srivastava wanted this land, but I didn't know about this when we dereserved it. And when I knew that Srivastava had an interest in it, I told my officials to go slow. It was our policy decision to re-grant land not being used by the government to generate revenue, and so the decision on the Vaccine Institute land (was taken).'' He categorically denied any deal. ``Had there been a deal, I would not have asked my officials to go slow.''

A couple of months after the Vaghela Government's decision, former health minister and current Gujarat Electricity Board chairman Nalin Bhatt filed a PIL in the Gujarat HC challenging the dereservation of the land. But in March 1998, while the petition was pending in court, the RJP lost the elections and the BJP came to power. But then, Madhu Srivastava had also joined the BJP and won the Waghodia seat. In April, Bhatt -- a vocal critic of Srivastava -- withdrew the PIL. Though Bhatt refused to comment on why he did so, top BJP sources spokeof a high-level pre-election meeting between then party president Vajubhai Vala, Keshubhai Patel, Suresh Mehta and Srivastava in which the matter was discussed.

A Cabinet meeting on February 10 this year authorised the re-grant at a price of Rs 3,200 per sq m -- the rate fixed by the RJP ministry, totalling Rs 4.67 crore. When Jaspal Singh, the minister in charge of Vadodara district, objected, the price was raised to Rs 6.13 crore. When even this was not agreeable to Singh, the matter was referred to a three-member Cabinet sub-committee looking into the RJP ministry's ``questionable'' deals.

Though Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel told The Indian Express that the decision had been left to the sub-committee, sources say that the proposal was moved in the Cabinet to pass it, and not merely discuss it.

The other twist in the tale: Though the owners are in no position to shell out that much money, Rs 1.56 crore was deposited in the Government's favour by the heirs with the Mandvi branch of the StateBank of India. This despite the fact that Mathurbhai Shridharbhai -- the main heir -- holds a Below Poverty Line (BPL) card. He stays with other heirs in a zopadpatti. They are unable to explain where the money came from and refuse to comment on the matter.

Srivastava, however, told The Indian Express: ``The Government has to clear the proposal since the Vaghela Government had approved it. And when payment of Rs 1.56 crore had already been made, there is no point delaying it.''

The BJP is hard put to explain the sequence of events. State general secretary Gordhan Jadapia says, ``If any decision is good in law and in the state's interest, there is nothing wrong. It should not be of individual interest.'' When told that this decision seemed to favour an individual's interest, Jadapia said, ``But if it is of state interest, then there's nothing wrong.'' Asked how a decision could be of interest to both parties, he says, ``It depends.''