Suryavanshi struck gold in bjp rule

Bhopal, June 21, 2012 (HMNS) The income tax raids on well- known builders of Bhopal Dilip Suryavanshi and Sudhir Sharma has sent ripples in the political arena as they have earned huge wealth by taking advantage of their political relations.

The business of both flourished during the tenure of BJP government. It is being said that Suryavanshi was a close friend of chief minister Shivraj Singh due to which Harish Singh, a long- time personal secretary of Chauhan, managed to get his brother Bharat Singh appointed as the Director in a firm owned by Suryavanshi.

The income tax officers also searched his residence.

The business of Suryavanshi rose from Rs 13 crore to Rs 1000 crore under BJP rule and he has grabbed contracts worth Rs 5000 crore till date.

His company Dileep BuildCon is registered as an " Unlimited value contractor'with the state PWD and WRD. The wife and son of Survanshi are directors in the company.

The group includes six companies with interests in infrastructure, mines and minerals and mass communications.

Suryavanshi has managed to extend his business empire in other BJPruled states. Beside Chauhan, Suryavanshi is close to BJP state president Prabhat Jha, ministers Jayant Malaiya, Narottam Mishra, Nagendra Singh, Kailash Vijayvargiya and about a dozen bureaucrats.

Apart from BJP leaders, Suryavanshi also has influence in Congress and enjoys close relations with CLP leader Ajay Singh.

There was panic among BJP leaders as soon as they came to know about the IT raids on the establishments and residences of Suryavanshi and Sharma, these leaders started removing documents and cash from their own places. Sources said not a single big contract in PWD department was signed without the consent of Suryavanshi. Sources also said that due to undue interference by Suryavanshi in government work, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan had started maintaining a distance from him in past few days.

The income tax department is likely to summon the BJP leaders and bureaucrats who have relations with Suryavanshi.

Traders facing IT raids linked with BJP topnotch: Cong

The businessmen who faced income tax raids on Wednesday are close aides of the topnotch in the BJP government. These businessmen have direct links with the BJP state headquarters and chief ministers residence and if properly investigated, several cases of corruption will be unearthed, said CLP leader Ajay Singh. Singh said those businessmen flourished during the tenure of BJP government in the past eight years.

A CBI probe into mining scams was needed to reveal the ugly and corrupt face of the state government, he added.

He further said the raids were conducted at the establishments and residences of the mining, education and real estate businessmen against whom the CLP had warned during the nonconfidence motion in the Vidhan Sabha on November 28, 2011. The shameful aspect of the proceedings is that those corrupt people maintain very close relations with BJP leaders holding top positions in the state government.

The BJP leaders not only covered their misdeeds but also honoured them time to time like appointing Sudhir Sharma as the chairman of CRISP. He said the raids will unfold the scams in allotment of mining lease by the government. He reiterated the demand for a CBI probe into mining scam.

All computers seized

The income tax department has seized all the computers found at the establishments of Dilip Suryavanshi and Sudhir Sharma. It is believes that the computers contain information which will prove the politicians- contractors nexus.

Money made from MP

Among the 13 clients of Dilip BuildCon, listed on its website, 8 are MP- based. These include MP PWD, MPRDC. IDA. BMC, MPWRD, CPA, MP Rural roads development Corporation and NHDC ( MP). Interestingly, all are government bodies. Three other clients are Gujarat- based and one is based in HP. Both Gujarat and HP are BJP- ruled states.

Yes, they were associated with BJP: Jha

Reacting to the I- T raids, BJP President Prabhat Jha admitted that both Suryavanshi and Sudhir Sharma were associated with the BJP. But he did not attach much importance to the raids. “Businessmen are associated with political parties and they do evade taxes. There is nothing new about it", he said.