India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal exposed yet another scam involving politicians on Wednesday, accusing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nithin Gadkari of illegally acquiring farmers' land and misusing irrigation water.
The allegation against Nithin Gadkari came just a couple of days after IAC accused Law Minister Salman Khurshid of misappropriating funds meant for handicapped people.
In a press conference, Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the BJP president worked with the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra so that his industries in the state prosper though the farmers suffer.
IAC alleged that Ajit Pawar, the then irrigation minister, gave Vidarbha farmers' land to Nitin Gadkari's organizations and that the farmers were threatened by Gadkari's henchmen when the farmers protested that the land not used in building of the dams be returned to them.
According to the press release, the central government alloted funds to construct dams in order to provide irrigation to the farmers but they benefit only the politicians and industrialists.
"...almost the entire water is being diverted for power and sugar industry. For instance, in Umred taluka, Lower Vena Vadgaon Dam was meant to provide irrigation water to these farmers. This dam has just one canal, which is non-functional. So, there is no question of the water reaching the farmers for irrigation. Instead, the entire water from this dam has been permitted to be used by Nitin Gadkari's firms and other industries in that area," stated the press release.
Kejriwal said that most of the dams in Maharashtra are not benefitting the farmers though they are meant to be. He added that none of the political parties are raising voice against the use of irrigation water for industries as most of them are owned by either politicians cutting across all parties to individuals with strong political links.
However, Gadkari said that Kejriwal's allegations are baseless and termed it as a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the BJP.
