Arora, Fouji appear before Lokayukta

CHANDIGARH: Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Ashok Arora, and chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) in the ruling Congress government Ram Kishan Fouji appeared before the Haryana Lokayukta in connection with the compact disc (CD) that showed Fouji allegedly seeking ` 5 crore in lieu of getting a change of land use (CLU) licence for a piece of land in Gurgaon.

While Arora, in his statement, admitted that the CD was released by INLD leaders on September 6, 2013, and the contents of the video clip were authentic, he sought to get the authenticity of the CD verified from “any laboratory in the country” and the subsequent registration of a criminal case against Fouji.

Fouji, who is a legislator from Bawani Khera, in his statement, said that the allegations were baseless and the CD was doctored.

THE CD SHOWED FOUJI ALLEGEDLY SEEKING ` 5 CRORE IN LIEU OF GETTING A CHANGE OF LAND USE LICENCE

He also held that it was a conspiracy of the INLD to tarnish his image.

The lokayukta, justice Pritam Pal (retd), has fixed the next hearing for January 17 and asked the INLD leaders to come equipped with evidence, if any. The lokayukta is looking into the case after the Congress government sent a reference to it under Section 8 (1) of the Haryana Lokayukta Act on September 10. The Congress had rubbished the charges, terming the CDs submitted by the INLD as doctored. HTC