Chugh demands CBI probe into political financial corruption in Punjab

STATE TIMES NEWS

CHANDIGARH: BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Tuesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged financial corruption in the Congress.
Taking strong note of the claim made by Navjot Kaur Sidhu that former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa allegedly sold Congress Assembly tickets in Rajasthan, Chugh said such allegations must be investigated because they reflect gross financial corruption under the Congress leadership led by the Gandhi family.
In a statement, Chugh said that some members of the Gandhi family themselves are on bail in corruption cases, and therefore the disclosures made by Navjot Kaur Sidhu must be investigated thoroughly.
Chugh also referred to a fresh chapter of corruption in Punjab involving protected forest and government land in the Shivalik Range. He said the people of Punjab want to know why the Congress leadership has chosen to suspend Navjot Kaur Sidhu at the very moment when she has flagged a major environmental and land-grabbing scandal that directly concerns powerful political interests.
Chugh said Navjot Kaur Sidhu has clearly alleged that thousands of acres of Shivalik foothill land, protected under the Punjab Land Preservation Act and forest regulations, are under illegal occupation by VVIPs without legal registry.
Chugh said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is allegedly preparing to legalise these illegal holdings, which would amount to legitimising environmental crime. He said the Shivalik region is ecologically fragile and legally protected, and any move to regularise unauthorised forest land must be investigated at the highest level.
Chugh also demanded a comprehensive CBI enquiry into the entire Shivalik land encroachment and proposed regularisation, saying the people of Punjab deserve full transparency on which VVIPs have grabbed protected land and who allowed this to happen.