Chandigarh: While the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have come together in the INDIA bloc, the situation in Punjab is another story altogether, with the former alleging a “vicious witch-hunt” against its leaders by the state government run by the latter.
In the 16 months that AAP has been in power in the state, more than a dozen Congress leaders, including a former chief minister and deputy chief minister, are facing serious probes ordered by the government. As many as four former Congress cabinet ministers have been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) on charges of alleged corruption.
Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira, who says he is the latest victim, tweeted Friday about AAP “sparing no opportunity to marginalise @INCPunjab by slapping maliciously false criminal cases”.
Later, in a press statement, Khaira added that three FIRs had been registered against him in the past 16 months, the latest being in May this year. He said the FIR was registered in Bholath in Kapurthala on the basis of a 51-year-old revenue record of his family when he was only seven. Khaira said that the FIR was registered as a fallout of his having vociferously spoken up on the allegations of sexual misconduct against cabinet minister Lal Chand Kataruchakk. He alleged that the FIR was aimed at silencing him.
Shame on @ArvindKejriwal & @BhagwantMann for their double standards as on one hand they are running from pillar to post for opposition unity and INDIA alliance while on the other hand they’re sparing no opportunity to marginalize @INCPunjab by slapping maliciously false criminal… pic.twitter.com/ZIUXqWIxIz
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) July 28, 2023
Several other Congress leaders have objected to their party high command stitching together an alliance with AAP at the Centre. Earlier this week, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa met senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and national party head Mallikarjun Kharge to tell them that the alliance would have a “detrimental effect” on the state unit.
ThePrint reached AAP’s chief spokesperson in Punjab, Malvinder Singh Kang via the phone but he did not take the call. This report will be updated if and when he responds.
Long list of cases
On 9 July, former deputy chief minister O.P. Soni was arrested by the VB on charges of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. According to the VB statement, a probe ordered in October 2022 revealed that between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2022, the income of Soni and his family was Rs 4.5 crore while the expenditure was Rs 12.4 crore — 176 percent more than their income.
Reacting to Soni’s arrest, Bajwa had said that AAP was indulging in vendetta politics and misusing government machinery, including the VB, to target and malign the image of Congress leaders.
Former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, too, has been questioned by the VB on similar charges of amassing disproportionate assets. After a look out circular was issued against him in March, Channi was questioned twice by the VB to explain the wealth he had gathered in the past few years. Channi termed the action against him politically motivated and challenged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to do “whatever he wanted” against him, adding that he was not afraid of going to jail.
Three other former ministers — Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sunder Sham Arora have been arrested by the VB. Ashu, a former food and civil supplies minister, was arrested in August last year for alleged irregularities in the award of transport contracts for carrying foodgrains. Ashu denied the allegations and was granted bail by the high court in March this year.
Former welfare minister Dharamsot was arrested in February this year on charges of amassing wealth disproportionate to his income. According to the VB, from 01-03-2016 to 31-03-2022, Dharamsot and his family’s income was Rs 2.37 crore while the expenditure was Rs 8.76 crore — 269 percent more than the income. The high court granted Dharamsot regular bail in May this year.
Arora, a former industries and commerce minister who was already in jail in an alleged bribery case, was arrested in January this year for his alleged involvement in the allotment of industrial plots by the Punjab State Industries Export Corporation. He got bail in April from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Former minister Sangat Singh Gilzian is facing corruption charges relating to his tenure as forest minister. In July last year, the VB arrested his nephew Daljit Singh Gilzian who allegedly acted as the conduit for Gilzian to take bribes. The former minister himself was spared arrest following a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
A sitting Congress MLA from Gurdaspur, Barindermeet Singh Pahra, is also facing a probe in a disproportionate assets complaint. In January this year, the VB carried out a technical assessment of some of the properties owned by his relatives.
Congress turncoats also in trouble
Even former Congress leaders such as Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Singh Kangar —both joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last year — are facing vigilance probes for amassing disproportionate assets.
Former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who also joined the BJP earlier this year, was questioned by the VB on Monday on a complaint by his political adversary, Sarup Chand Singla. Singla had alleged that Badal used his official position to buy a plot in Bathinda for a very low price, which Badal denied in a press conference Thursday.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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