Under fire for using her political clout to get prime land in suburban Mumbai allotted to her for a pittance, actress-turned-MP Hema Malini said she had struggled for 20 years to get the plot.
“I have been struggling for 20 years to get this plot of land. It is my right to get this place,” Hema Malini told reporters here. The decision by the Devendra Fadnavis government to hand over the 2,000 square metre plot in Oshiwara has drawn flak from Opposition parties and activists alike. The allotment came to light when queries filed under the Right to Information Act by activist Anil Galgali revealed that the government had allotted the plot for a measly Rs 70,000. Real estate agents quoted by the media say the construction potential on the plot would be worth more than Rs 50 crore.
The Bollywood star of the 1970s said she would pay the government as per rules. “Let the plot come into my hands and I will pay according to rules,” Hema added. According to RTI activists, Hema, in her affidavit to the Election Commission, has claimed to possess cash and assets to the tune of Rs 178 crore.
The former actress, who represents Mathura in the Lok Sabha, said she planned to set up a classical dance institute that would be the pride of Maharashtra. “There is so much of western influence... there... is need to encourage Indian culture.”
As to why she was not opening the institute in Mathura, Hema said Mumbai was her home. “For so many years I have struggled in Mumbai, now I should open (the institute) in Mathura?” she said.
She said the government had asked her to construct a garden on a part of the plot and hand it over to the civic body. “So it is like a white elephant for me,” she added.
