Former Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam, who was recently inducted into the Congress, charged Arun Shourie, divestment minister in the erstwhile National Democratic Alliance government with "direct involvement" in the privatisation of Centaur Hotel in Mumbai and the sale of 18 out of 26 Indian Tourism Development Corp hotels at "throwaway prices" and demanded a probe into the matter by either the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Central Vigilance Commission.

Shourie had "circumvented the divestment procedure in the sale of the Centaur Hotel at Mumbai at grossly under-priced value even as the 18 ITDC hotels were sold out to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and their relatives during the BJP-led NDA rule at the Centre," he told reporters in Varanasi.

The Divestment Development: Complete Coverage

The observations of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the issue of sale of Centaur and other hotels in the Juhu area in Mumbai indicated the involvement of the former divestment minister, Nirupam said.

He said the divestment of the 18 hotels of the ITDC group at a "throwaway" value of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) was of "far more serious magnitude" claiming the value of these properties could be not less than Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion) or more.

Alleging "direct involvement" of Shourie in the issue, Nirupam, who recently quit the Shiv Sena on the Reliance [Get Quote] share issue, said an inquiry by either the CBI or CVC would unravel the truth in the matter.

Nirupam said he has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the deals related to Centaur Hotel and the ITDC hotels and was awaiting the latter's reply on the action to be taken by the United Progressive Alliance government.