Tables, however, have turned. Today, corruption in high places is the election plank of the Congress in BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh. The AICC has released a list of properties owned by the relatives of chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in Punjab, Himachal and Delhi. According to AICC estimates, the market value of the properties is Rs 41.05 crore. The question being raised is how did Dhumal, who worked for the lic and later as a lecturer, amass wealth running into crores.
Among the properties are seven units in the Industrial Area and Estate at Jalandhar, two houses, the local branch of the Delhi Public School and two other companies in the same city. It is also alleged that the Dhumal family owns a restaurant in McLeodganj, Dharamshala, besides two houses in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, and two petrol pumps.
This is the first time the Congress has made specific charges of corruption. Says Congress leader Anand Sharma: "The needle of suspicion is pointing towards Mr Dhumal. He must now come clean and explain how his kith and kin acquired these properties." According to aicc insiders, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh helped in compiling the list. The Congress is printing posters in Chandigarh highlighting the charges of corruption against Dhumal for use in its Himachal campaign.
