BackCongress moves PM Modi for fresh probe into Mumbai Centaur Hotels sale
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam in a letter to the Prime Minister said the CBI's 2001-02 investigation into the sale has not seen the light of day
Premium
New Delhi: In the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) taking action in the sale of Udaipur’s Laxmi Vilas Palace Hotel, the Congress party has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the agency to re-investigate the sale of two Centaur Hotels in Mumbai some 14 years ago.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, AICC (All India Congress Committee) secretary Sanjay Nirupam said that the CBI should file a first information report (FIR) in the matter, so that the perpetrators including government officials and the ministers concerned are brought to book.
He said a re-investigation was needed as the probe into the sale of two Centaur Hotels in Mumbai, at the airport and in the Juhu area, belonging to the Hotel Corp. of India Ltd, during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government, in 2001-02 has not seen the light of the day.
He said that the Airport Centaur Hotel was first sold to Batra Hospitality Pvt. Ltd for ₹ 83 crore.
“However within four months of the disinvestment, Batra Hospitality Pvt. Ltd resold the property to Sahara Hospitality Pvt. Ltd for a profit of ₹ 32 crore despite a specific clause in the agreement that it was non-assignable for two years," Nirupam said.
Thus the sale agreement signed between private entity Batra Hospitality and the government of India was “clearly breached", he wrote.
Similarly the 317-room Juhu Centaur Hotel, a prime property on Juhu Beach, was sold to Tulip Hospitality Service Pvt. Ltd for ₹ 153 crore. “The fact that Centaur Hotel, Juhu is now up for resale with a base price of ₹ 1,300 crore in the tender issued proves beyond doubt that they were grossly unvalued in the previous sale," Nirupam wrote.
He said he wrote the letter in view of the fact that the CBI has booked the then disinvestment secretary in connection with the sale of the Udaipur hotel. PTI
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
