New Delhi
Congress on Monday criticized the BJP-led Centre, alleging a Rs 13,000 crore scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission in Jammu and Kashmir and the victimization of the IAS officer who exposed the scam while shielding the accused. Speaking at a press conference at the party headquarters, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Pawan Khera said that the government engages in event management every day to divert attention from real issues. Khera, who also chairs the party’s media and publicity department, highlighted a complaint from Jammu and Kashmir against Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha alleging a Rs 13,000 crore scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission. The whistleblower of the scam, Ashok Kumar Parmar, is a Dalit IAS officer who has written to the SC/ST Commission and the Ministry of Home Affairs, but no action has been taken. Khera criticized the Modi government, suggesting that top officials had promoted corrupt officers named in the scam while demoting the whistleblower, despite his 30 years of service. Parmar was transferred four times, while the officers implicated in the scam are being protected. Khera also referenced another scam involving Satyapal Malik, the former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and alleged financial connections between Malik and Sanjay Rai Sherpuria, who was part of the BJP-RSS ecosystem. Khera concluded that the scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission had occurred under the nose of J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha.
