Sand mafia in Punjab worth Rs 20,000 crore: Kejriwal
Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Dec, 2021 12:17 PM
Amritsar, Dec 7 (IANS) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the sand mafia in Punjab alone runs illegal business of over Rs 20,000 crore.
There are serious allegations of direct involvement of ruling Congress MLAs, their ministers and their close associates, including the Chief Minister himself.
Kejriwal was responding to the queries of the media persons on his arrival at Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport here. He was on a day-long visit to Punjab for participation in party programmes.
He said when allegations of involvement of the Congress MLAs and ministers, including the Chief Minister, in sand mafia and many other illegal activities are being levelled, then who will protect the interests of the general public?
"Who will save the interest of Punjab? To whom will the common people go for justice? Can the welfare of Punjab and the people of Punjab be expected from such mafia and patrons of mafia state?"
Kejriwal said earlier the Badals and the BJP had looted the state by patronizing all sorts of mafia during their regime.
In 2017, people expressed their faith in the promises made by the Congress and the Captain (Amarinder Singh), but they too followed the footsteps of the Badals.
He said according to an estimate, illegal trade of Rs 20,000 crore per annum in sand and gravel mining alone was going on in Punjab. This money can be used for the welfare of the people, but it is going into the pockets of the leaders instead of the government coffers.
Kejriwal promised that with the formation of the AAP government in 2022, all sorts of mafia, including illegal sand mining, would be shut down.
The money that is going into the pockets of political leaders from the resources of the state due to mafia rule will go to the needy pockets of mothers, sisters and the elderly.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, to monitor the Lakhimpur Kheri violence probe and to ensure fairness and independence in the investigation.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked petitions against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order, which upheld the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as Punjab Director General of Police.
Punjab has always stood against external intrusions and hence must be considered as a security case, not just as an economic case at the time of budgetary allocation, state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said here on Tuesday. Badal made the demand during a virtual discussion with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on stepping up investment, infrastructure and growth in the country.
After a lacklustre outing in the 2017 Assembly polls, Kejriwal's AAP has rejuvenated its efforts to make a political dent in Goa for the upcoming 2022 state Assembly polls.
Addressing the gathering during a function to mark the death anniversary of former Punjab minister and Congress leader Santokh Singh Randhawa here, the Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for re-opening the Kartarpur corridor ahead of Prakash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev.
In a three page letter written on November 8, Tewari said, "I am requesting Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to kindly ensure 50 per cent reservation granted to Mazhabi Sikhs & Balmikis out of 22.5 per cent way back in 1975, is upheld when matter comes up before a 7 or 9-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court when constituted shortly."
