Chandigarh, Apr 30 (PTI) The Punjab unit of BJP on Thursday claimed that a raid was conducted by the Punjab Pollution Control Board at the factory premises of MP Rajinder Gupta’s Trident Group in Barnala, decrying it as an act of political vendetta by misusing government agencies.
Founder and managing director of textiles major Trident Group, Gupta is one of the seven Rajya Sabha MPs who recently defected to BJP from AAP.
Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma alleged that the raid was conducted at the behest of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in an attempt to “settle political scores”.
However, there is no official word on the raid operation by the PPCB.
In a statement, Sharma further said the only “fault” of Gupta is that he dared to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “for the betterment of Punjab”, which has made him a target of the state government.
Instead of focusing on governance and addressing pressing issues of Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is “misusing” state machinery to target political opponents and industrialists, Sharma alleged.
“Such vindictive actions send a negative message to the industry and investors, and reflect the government’s intolerance towards dissent,” Sharma added.
Targeting a reputed industrial group under political pressure undermines the credibility of institutions like the PPCB and raises serious concerns about the “misuse” of power, he further alleged, urging the Mann government to refrain from such actions and to ensure transparency and fairness in administrative functioning.
Calling the raid “highly condemnable” Sharma demanded that the Punjab government clarify the basis of the action and stop using government agencies for “political vendetta”.
He reiterated that the BJP Punjab stands firmly against such misuse of authority and will continue to raise its voice to protect democratic values and the interests of the people of Punjab.
On April 24, the Aam Aadmi Party suffered a jolt when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs — Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal — quit and merged with the BJP, alleging that the party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals. Six of the seven MPs who quit AAP were from Punjab. PTI CHS SUN SKY SKY
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