Charanjit Singh Channi, the former chief minister of Punjab, appeared before the Vigilance Bureau on Friday in relation to a case involving disproportionate assets. He criticised the state’s Aam Aadmi Party government for moving up his date of appearance and claimed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s administration was engaging in ‘vendetta politics’ before visiting the bureau’s Mohali office at 11.10 a.m.
He was initially summoned by the vigilance office to appear for questioning on April 12. He did, however, seek a different time to join the probe, and the bureau granted his request, asking him to show up on April 20. But the date was later moved ahead to April 14 by the agency.
He had earlier demanded that CM Bhagwant Mann provide evidence that he owned real estate worth Rs 170 crore and had 250 acres of land.
He turned emotional while being accompanied by senior leaders at the Punjab Congress Bhavan in Chandigarh and declared that the AAP government was anti-Dalit because he had been called for questioning on the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar and on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi.
He was joined by Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Partap Singh Bajwa, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Chaudhary and Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, the party’s candidate for the Jalandhar by-elections.
The former CM remarked that he believed he could even get thrown in jail since the AAP government wanted to prevent him from campaigning in Jalandhar.
Polling for the Jalandhar parliamentary seat will take place along with Karnataka assembly elections which are on May 10 and the result will be declared on 13 May.
“The AAP government may even eliminate me, but I won’t be cowed down. I will continue to speak the truth. The AAP falsely painted me as corrupt to win the 2022 Assembly election. I dare the CM to hold a press conference to give details of my property,” he challenged with tears in his eyes.
“Am I being harassed by the Centre through income tax and ED and by the state through vigilance only because I remained the CM for three months,” he asked the incumbent Punjab administration.
The Congressman asserted that the truth was that his financial situation was precarious and that a judge had ordered the attachment of his ancestral home. “I had to get a stay from the court,” he added.