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‘Operation Lotus’: FIR registered after AAP files complaint against BJP
Development comes hours after finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema met Punjab DGP and complained against the BJP for allegedly offering money to party’s MLAs in Punjab
Police on Wednesday registered a first information report (FIR) on the basis of preliminary investigation into the AAP’s allegations against the BJP for attempting to topple its government in Punjab.
The case has now been transferred to the vigilance bureau as per the standard guidelines.
The development comes hours after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, accompanied by several party MLAs, met director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav and complained against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly offering money to their legislators in Punjab.
The FIR has been registered under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 171-B and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the state crime police station in Mohali.
The AAP leaders, who met Yadav in Chandigarh, had filed a complaint against BJP “leaders and agents” for offering up to ₹25 crore each to 10 MLAs and threatening Jalandhar West legislator Sheetal Angural with death for allegedly exposing their plan to topple the Punjab government.
“The complaint has been submitted along with all proofs for a fair probe,” Cheema said after meeting the DGP.
The MLAs, who were present at the finance minister’s press conference and later went with him to the DGP’s office included Sheetal Angural, Dinesh Chadha, Raman Arora, Kuljit Singh Randhawa, Narinder Kaur Bharaj, Rupinder Singh, Rajnish Dahiya, Labh Singh Ugoke, Manjit Bilaspur, Kulwant Pandori and Budh Ram.
Several of them, according to Cheema, were allegedly offered money or threatened to quit the AAP and join the BJP. He, however, did not disclose the names of those who made such offers or issued threats.
The finance minister, who had first alleged that BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’ was at play in Punjab on Tuesday, also said that they unsuccessfully tried to “break 35 MLAs” to bring down the state government.
The AAP had swept the Punjab assembly polls in March by winning 92 of the 117 seats, whereas the BJP could only secure two.
Any attempt to break the AAP without attracting the provisions of the anti-defection law would require two-thirds of the total strength of the party -- 62 members to be precise -- in the assembly.
Mann, Cheema quote different numbers
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann also condemned the BJP’s alleged attempt to offer money and give threats to party MLAs, but quoted a different number of legislators who were approached by the rival party. Cheema claimed that 10 MLAs were offered money to quit the party, whereas Mann put their number at six to seven.
“A few days ago, they (BJP) tried Operation Lotus in Delhi, but not a single MLA of the AAP could be bought. They then turned to Punjab and tried to contact six to seven of our MLAs and offered them money. They are mistaken that they will be able to buy any of our MLAs,” Mann said in a two-and-a-half minute video that he posted on Twitter.
Present evidence on ‘Op Lotus’: Bajwa to Cheema
Congress leader and leader of opposition in Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday asked the AAP to produce concrete evidence against the BJP on the allegations of horse-trading in the state.
He said though Cheema claimed that the BJP attempted to buy nearly 35 of his party MLAs, only few of them were present at the press conference. “If this is such a serious issue, why the entire set of AAP MLAs could not be brought before the media?” he asked.
While Bajwa said the BJP leadership should get a criminal case registered and also file a defamation suit against the AAP, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring offered his party’s support to the government, calling the nature of allegations serious.
He asked the AAP government to get the issue probed by some independent investigating agency under the supervision of the high court. Warring, however, expressed strong doubts about the AAP government getting it probed since the allegations were being made according to a “pre-dictated script to divert and deflect attention from the failures of the government”.
The Punjab unit of the BJP has, meanwhile, dubbed the allegation “baseless” and a “bundle of lies” while claiming that the AAP is trying to divert attention of people from its “failures”.
