Allotting land to Asaram was a mistake: Digvijay

Congress leader Digvijay Singh has said he committed a "mistake" by allotting land to Asaram Bapu, who is facing rape charges, during his tenure as chief minister and demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party government cancel the lease.

"Allotment of land to Asaram Bapu was a mistake and I regret it," Digvijay, who has been accusing BJP leaders of "protecting" the controversial self-style godman, said. He was addressing a farmers' meeting organised by the Congress at Susner in Shajapur district yesterday.

Singh, who was chief minister of Madhya Pradesh from 1993 to 2003, had allotted land to Asaram for developing his ashram in Indore. He demanded that the BJP government should cancel the land lease agreement.

Earlier, Digvijay had said in Indore that in 1998, all political parties had recommended that land be allotted to Asaram since none of them were aware of his character and what he would do in future.

The 72-year-old godman is presently in judicial custody after being arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his ashram.

The senior Congress leader also targeted yoga guru yoga guru Ramdev accusing him of acquiring wealth amounting to Rs 1,100 crore and sought to know how he had accumulated so much of assets. He also alleged that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was taking out his Janashirwad Yatra from the money allotted for the central welfare schemes.