New Delhi, 05 October (H.S.): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stepped up its attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab after the Punjab and Haryana High Court handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into corruption allegations linked to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Rajbir Singh Ghumman. BJP leader Sambit Patra said serious allegations of corruption had surfaced in Punjab and that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal should now answer the allegations before the people.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on Monday, Sambit Patra said the BJP had been raising questions for a long time over alleged corruption and the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab. He alleged that serious allegations had been levelled against people associated with the Chief Minister’s Office of acting as intermediaries between the government and business interests and of allegedly influencing government functioning.

He said that following the High Court’s order, the CBI investigation should establish the truth behind these allegations. The BJP demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal clarify their position on the entire matter.

Sambit Patra also raised the issue of law and order in Punjab. He claimed that four incidents of murder had been reported in the state over the preceding 48 hours. Citing these incidents, the BJP alleged that the security of ordinary citizens in Punjab remained a matter of serious concern.

He said that while a CBI investigation into serious corruption allegations against people associated with the Chief Minister’s Office was being initiated, incidents of crime in the state were also a cause for concern. The party has demanded that the Mann government respond to both issues — corruption and law and order.

It may be recalled that the High Court, while hearing a public interest litigation on Monday, directed the CBI to register a criminal case and conduct an investigation into the matter. The court also directed the CBI to submit a status report within two months. The case relates to three letters sent by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), in which corruption allegations were levelled against Chief Minister’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghumman and some other individuals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar