Chandigarh: A day after Rashim Garg, a close aide of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta, was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh, the Opposition on Friday united against the Bhagwant Mann government and demanded the arrest of the MLA.
Garg was arrested from the Bathinda Circuit House on Thursday evening in the presence of the MLA, who was also questioned in the matter.
According to the vigilance bureau, Garg received Rs 4 lakh from Pritpal Kumar, husband of Seema Rani, who is the sarpanch of Ghuda village in Bathinda for the release of a grant of Rs 25 lakh for the village panchayat. The bureau recovered the money from Garg’s car, which was parked inside the Circuit House. Rattan is the MLA from Bathinda Rural.
While Rattan, in a video message Friday, said that Garg was not his personal assistant and he had nothing to do with the case of corruption, opposition parties alleged that Garg was accepting the bribe on behalf of the MLA.
Talking to reporters after the incident, Pritpal Kumar said he first met the MLA in the Circuit House and told him that he had brought the money. Later, the MLA asked him to hand over the money to Garg, Kumar said.
“It is very clear from the statement issued by the complainant that the bribe money was meant for the MLA. The AAP government claims to be very honest but this is the third case where they have come to the rescue of their MLA. First, it was Vijay Singla who, despite having been removed from the post of a minister, was not prosecuted in accordance with the law. Then, another minister, Fauja Singh Sarari, also was removed as minister but no action has been initiated against him. Now, it is Rattan,” said Leader of the Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa.
A video of Garg’s arrest was widely shared on social media.
Talking to reporters at Adampur, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that there was a video recording of the MLA demanding a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from the sarpanch’s husband before money was handed over to Garg.
“It was abhorrent that the AAP government had got into rescue mode immediately to save their MLA. This could have only been done on orders of the chief minister or Arvind Kejriwal,” said Badal.
The SAD president said that his party exposed Rattan when he was with the Akali Dal. “We formed a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of Sikandar Singh Maluka to probe complaints from scores of farmers and party workers who gave proof that Rattan had taken lakhs of rupees from them and was not returning the same. It was due to this that Rattan was summarily expelled from the SAD after which he was picked up by the AAP and given a party ticket in the 2022 assembly elections,” said Badal.
Demanding the immediate arrest of the AAP MLA and an impartial probe into the entire incident as well as other alleged fraudulent activities of Rattan, Badal said: “It is certain that Rattan has collected bribes from other people also, including village panchayats. This needs to be probed to ensure justice to those who have been defrauded at the hands of this corrupt MLA.”
Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira tweeted that the AAP’s Delhi leadership was not allowing the MLA to be arrested.
“I’m told there’s a serious tussle between @raghav_chadha & @BhagwantMann over arrest of Aap Mla Amit Rattan as he’s got his blessings & ticket from Delhi lobby by paying hefty amount. How can govt not arrest Mla after categorical statement by complaint?” he tweeted.
I’m told there’s a serious tussle between @raghav_chadha & @BhagwantMann over arrest of Aap Mla Amit Rattan as he’s got his blessings & ticket from Delhi lobby by paying hefty amount. How can govt not arrest Mla after categorical statement by complaint?-Khaira @INCIndia pic.twitter.com/yxwtmiR4hP
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) February 17, 2023
Despite the multiple attacks on the Mann government over the issue, there was no official statement with regard to the MLA from either the party or the Punjab government.
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