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Land allotment case: Vigilance grills Manpreet Badal for over 4 hours in Bathinda
Former finance minister and BJP leader refutes charges of misusing his position to get CLU for the plot
Former finance minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manpreet Badal appeared before the Vigilance Bureau’s Bathinda zone office on Monday, where he was questioned for more than four hours in the land allotment case.
After the marathon questioning, the five-time legislator made a scathing attack on his party colleague Sarup Chand Singla, a complainant in the case, and chief minister Bhagwant Mann for trying to tarnish his image. Single joined BJP last year and is the district president of the party unit, while Manpreet joined the saffron party in January this year.
Manpreet termed the VB probe a ‘political vendetta’ and called the complaint an outcome of the ‘political frustration’ of Singla, who is a former legislator from Bathinda Urban.
Manpreet said he has apprised the senior BJP leadership about the biased conduct of Singla, who is president of the Bathinda BJP unit, and expressed hope for an appropriate action by the party ‘known for maintaining discipline’.
Manpreet reached the VB office at 11.50 am, and soon a battery of lawyers also joined him to furnish replies.
VB officials remained tightlipped on today’s questioning but confirmed that Manpreet’s legal team furnished documents related to plots auctioned by the Bathinda Development Board (BDA) and ownership papers.
Before reaching the VB office, situated at the district administrative complex, several councillors of Bathinda Municipal Corporation and a few local leaders of the saffron party met Manpreet at Circuit House.
Addressing the mediapersons after coming out of the VB office, Manpreet said land use of the said plots in Phase 1 of Bathinda’a Model Town was changed from commercial to residential in 2012 as BDA was unable to auction it.
“At the time of the change of land use (CLU), Singla was the Bathinda MLA, and his then party (Shiromani Akali Dal) was in power. I was in the opposition as leader of the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP). When I was not in the government, how could I be charged with abusing ministerial powers to make any government decision? The same plots were duly auctioned by the BDA through open bidding and I bought it later by paying a premium to previous land allottees,” said Manpreet.
Manpreet said Singla has a political grudge against him as the people of Bathinda Urban have given him an overwhelming response since 2014.
“Bathinda will remain my political turf,” he replied to a question on whether he was weighing options to go back to his previous bastion Gidderbaha in Muktsar.
The ex-FM said Singla had earlier lodged a complaint with the Lokpal, and the same was dismissed on September 13, 2022, as “there was no representation on the behalf of the complainant.” Manpreet also shared the copies of Lokpal order.
“Politicians and officials should be liable for public scrutiny to ensure good governance. But, sadly, CM Mann gave the go-ahead to a complaint that was rejected by the anti-corruption ombudsman. PPP had given a political platform to Mann and now he wants to implicate me falsely. I remained finance minister for nine years, and I dare Mann to find any wrongdoing committed by me. I never claimed any official vehicle, and all expenses incurred on fuel, stay, travelling, and medical care came from my pocket even when I was entitled to as a minister,” he said.
Manpreet said he is ready to face more probes as CM Mann is pursuing vendetta politics.
