“There has been large-scale misappropriation in several projects, including the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya,” Labour Minister and Congress leader Santosh Lad said in Hubballi on Sunday.
He said that there have been violations of rules, lack of transparency and diversion of funds, in the works taken up by the Union government and some State governments, including Uttar Pradesh. “The governments have also borrowed heavily, but failed to utilise those funds properly,” he said.
There has been corruption in the construction of Ram Mandir. “If Union Minister Pralhad Joshi were to engage in a public debate, I will face him with all the facts,” he said.
The CAG has pointed out that some of the roads built by the Union government have overshot the average cost of construction. There have been roads built at ₹250 crore per kilometre, while the average cost of construction is around ₹18 crore. “I invite Mr. Joshi to join me in an open debate about governance and development and not needless controversies,” he said.
Mr. Lad said that President Droupadi Murmu was not invited to Parliament while passing the women’s reservation Bill only because she is a widow and belonged to a tribal community. “It is only because the BJP is ideologically opposed to women, tribals and widows,” he said.
“It is strange to see that the Prime Minister has invited film actresses and other celebrities but not the President who is the head of Parliament. Is that just because she is a tribal and a widow. That displays the mindset of the BJP,” he said. “Even when the new Parliament building was inaugurated, the Prime Minister did not find it appropriate to invite the President,’‘ he added.
