A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday met Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking his intervention for a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allegations of corruption against chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s office and his family.
The SAD memorandum referred to three letters that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has shot off to Punjab Police making the case for registration of an FIR on the basis of the central agency’s investigation into a money-laundering case.
The SAD claimed the ED’s examination of WhatsApp chats, call records and documents had allegedly revealed interference in transfers and postings, policy decisions, government tenders, arms licences and land-related approvals.
It also alleged that private individuals had access to draft government orders and confidential policy documents before they entered the public domain.
SAD seeks probe into charges against CM’s wife, AAP hits back
The SAD also demanded an independent probe into the allegations that Mann’s wife Gurpreet Kaur sought ₹5 crore to suppress a rape case.
The AAP government and Kaur have vehemently denied the charges, terming them “baseless”.
{{/usCountry}}The AAP government and Kaur have vehemently denied the charges, terming them “baseless”.
{{/usCountry}}Talking to the media after meeting the governor, Sukhbir said the party would pursue both cases to their logical conclusion, asserting that Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and the Istri Akali Dal would “gherao” the CM’s residence on September 5 and would follow this with protests in all constituencies.
Reacting to allegations, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu said the SAD leaders were orchestrating a politically motivated campaign to malign the CM and his family while deliberately hiding their own political and personal associations.
The allegations being circulated against the CM and his family are based on unverified material and that neither the alleged audio recordings nor the claims surrounding them had been independently established, he said.
Pannu presented a series of photographs before the media purportedly showing political connections of the people whose names are being used in the current controversy. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of photographs.
“These were not images of political strangers but of people who had enjoyed proximity to the Akali leadership. These photographs are important because the same political ecosystem is now being presented as a source of allegations against the Mann family,” Pannu said.
AAP running ‘corruption syndicate’ in Punjab: BJP
New Delhi: The BJP also accused AAP leaders of running an alleged corruption syndicate through middlemen in Punjab to settle rape cases in exchange for bribes of up to ₹5 crore.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said: “In this corruption racket, allegations are that the CM and his wife, through middlemen, are seeking bribes of up to ₹5 crore to get legitimate rape cases settled.” Bhandari alleged that middlemen have been deputed across Punjab for the purpose.