After Big B's Teen Bigha Zameen, It's CPI's Shri 420

NEW DELHI: What’s common between Amitabh Bachchan and the Communist Party of India? On the face of it, nothing. While one is a superstar, the other is a marginal political force. But if one were to go by the allegations surrounding the two, they have one thing in common — both have fudged their identities to grab farm land.

Amitabh Bachchan is currently fighting a legal battle over three bighas (about 70,000 sq ft) of land that he acquired in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki area. The Bollywood icon is facing allegations that he misrepresented facts to receive benefits in Maharashtra.

He reportedly used the allotment as a testimonial to establish his credentials as a farmer to buy agricultural land in Maharashtra, as the state’s rules do not permit anyone other than a farmer to purchase such land.

In a similar instance, the CPI had fudged its then state secretary and former chief minister P K Vasudevan Nair’s identity to acquire land in Munnar in Kerala.

The CPI’s property in Munnar, allotted in 1999 in the name of Mr Vasudevan Nair’s secretary, was partially demolished recently after the special task force constituted by the LDF government found that the land was being misused.

According to the norms for gaining the title deed for the land, it can only be used for agricultural purchases. But after acquiring the land, the CPI constructed a five-storied building — Munnar Tourist Home. A local office of the party operates from the ground floor of the building.

Just like Bachchan, the CPI also gave different addresses of the party leader. In the application given to the revenue department for land allotment, the land was requested for P K Vasudevan Nair, M N Smaraka Mandiram, Trivandrum.

But when the land was allotted, the address was changed to P K Vasudevan Nair, CPI Office, Munnar. The special task force overseeing the demolition says that it was in violation of the land norms for the area.

The government task force which has been razing illegal structures on grabbed land in Munnar sent bulldozers to demolish part of the structure on the land. The CPI is likely to take up the issue at the LDF meeting.