Institute CBI probe into allegation that BJP offered Rs 25 cr to AAP MLAs: Akali Dal
Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Sep, 2022 01:12 PM
Chandigarh, Sep 15 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday demanded institution of a CBI and an ED inquiry into Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema's allegation that the BJP had offered Rs 25 crore each to 10 AAP legislators to switch loyalty.
Majithia told the media here that this was also necessary because the AAP government had neither made the FIR registered in this case public even after 24 hours, nor taken any action against any BJP leader or middlemen involved.
"Punjab has never witnessed a bribery charge of this scale ever and since Punjab Police is not acting in the matter, the case should be handed over to central agencies." He said a high court monitored probe could also be held on the issue.
Majithia also appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to get the allegations that the latter's name was used while trying to woo AAP legislators probed thoroughly.
"It is not a matter about any particular party but a challenge to democracy and its very foundations." He said SAD on its part would also file a complaint with Chandigarh Police on Friday to demand a thorough probe into the entire case in keeping with the sentiments of people of the state and their right to know the truth.
The SAD leader also asserted that there were many loose ends in the entire bribery case. "Different leaders are giving different figures. If Cheema says 10 MLAs were approached, the Chief Minister has put the figure to six or seven, while minister Aman Arora has given a figure of 35."
He said the AAP leadership had claimed that it had electronic evidence but the same was not being shared with the public.
Asserting that AAP may be in the process of enacting a drama at the expense of the state exchequer, Majithia said, "The government may very well hold a special session to seek a vote of confidence in the same manner in which it did in Delhi."
He also questioned the credentials of the pivotal AAP figure behind the allegations -- Sheetal Angural. He said the Finance Minister claimed that Angural had been attacked but there was no information about this in the public sphere.
"It is also being alleged that Angural had received death threats from the BJP. He showed a number of photographs of Angural with top BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, to prove that Angural had very cordial relations with the BJP." He also disclosed that Angural's testimony could not be believed as he had nine criminal cases registered against him, including those of abduction and kidnapping of a minor girl, attempt to murder, gambling and bootlegging.
Answering a question, Majithia said the Chief Minister had lowered the prestige of Punjab by lying about BMW establishing a car manufacturing plant in Punjab.
He also castigated the AAP government for being double standards on the Agnipath scheme. He said while Bhagwant Mann had opposed the scheme in the Vidhan Sabha, he was supporting it now.
As per the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, the harmonium is an instrument with colonial roots and was introduced in India by the British. It has urged that the harmoniums be replaced in three years with traditional string instruments during kirtans.
The bench of Justices Ramesh Sinha and Brij Raj Singh observed that the accused cops had indulged in a barbaric and inhuman killing of innocent persons by calling them terrorists.
During the previous hearing, Malik told the Court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him. He may not even challenge the sentencing in higher courts as he has himself pleaded guilty which means by all means, Malik will spend the rest of his life in Jail.
Cheema said school children from Punjab had fared better than their counterparts in Delhi when compared class wise right from class three, class five, class eight and class 10. He said Punjab students has stood first as far as comprehending mathematics was concerned, second in case of social sciences and third in case of English.
Lauding this farmer-friendly initiative, Mann said it would be instrumental to compile the entire data about each and every farmer, who has opted for DSR technique besides ensuring payment of Rs 1,500 per acre after proper verification through this portal to the genuine beneficiaries in a fair and transparent manner.
In the arguments before the sentencing, Malik told the court that he will accept hanging if the intelligence agencies prove any terror-related activities involving him.
