Labour minister submits reply to Lokayukta,debunks land grab allegations

The Lokayukta had started investigation after a preliminary probe by the District Magistrate of Mahoba found the charges to be true.

In a complaint to the Lokayukta on August 17,one Akhilesh Upadhyay,a resident of Kharela village,alleged that Singh encroached on 2 hectares of government land around the college by constructing a boundary wall.

Akhilesh had also alleged that the minister had grabbed land allotted for a community health centre in Kharela and built a house on it.

Badshah Singh’s aide Mukesh Singh,who submitted the reply to the Lokayukta,told The Indian Express that the boundary was not constructed by

the minister but by the owner of the land next to the college.

Rejecting allegations that the minister had grabbed community centre land,Mukesh said Singh owned 6 decimals of land on which he built a house and revenue records backing his claims had been submitted to the Lokayukta.

Lokayukta Mehrotra confirmed he had received the reply. He said he would now ask the complainant to file a rejoinder.

Mukesh said the minister submitted a preliminary objection,saying the allegations were not maintainable as the time period for filing a complaint had lapsed according to UP Lokayukta Act.

The Lokayukta had also asked the minister to provide proof that he had legally changed his name from Ramendra Singh to Badshah Singh.

“We are getting legal documents of the minister’s name change from departments concerned. The Lokayukta has given time till October 4 for submitting them,” said Mukesh Singh.

Singh had contested the Assembly elections in 1989 as Ramendra Singh. Later,he changed his name to Badshah Singh,Mukesh said.

The Lokayukta had earlier asked the minister to submit his reply by September 23 but he had sought additional time of one month. The Lokayukta rejected his request and had asked him to submit his reply by September 27.