Vigilance action against party leader Gill act of vengeance, says Punjab BJP chief

Chandigarh, Aug 3 (IANS) Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Sunday called the Vigilance action against party leader Ranjit Singh Gill a blatant act of political vengeance.  

He demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann investigate corruption allegations against his minister, Sanjiv Arora, for alleged misconduct as a land developer. Jakhar accused CM Mann of outsourcing Punjab’s governance to Delhi leaders, warning that when governments change, it’s the Chief Minister and ministers who face consequences for looting public funds, while “contractors” escape unscathed.

Jakhar claimed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, instead of tackling gangsters, is operating like a political gang itself. He labelled the action against Gill a violation of democratic norms, suggesting the government is intimidating opponents to deter them from joining rival parties or deviating from its agenda. He emphasised that everyone has the right to choose their political path in a democracy.

Jakhar questioned whether the raid on Gill’s residence and office was driven by AAP’s financial interests or tied to collusion with another builder in land pooling deals. He also reminded the Chief Minister of the 2016 SEBI ruling that found Minister Sanjiv Arora guilty of misleading shareholders, and the 2023 Enforcement Directorate raid on Arora, which AAP had called a vendetta. Yet, Jakhar noted, the government is now targeting Gill in a similar manner.

The BJP leader further highlighted that the late Ludhiana MLA Gurpreet Gogi had raised concerns about Arora’s company converting industrial land into residential colonies. He argued that this was clear evidence of wrongdoing, as even AAP’s own legislators questioned Arora’s actions. Jakhar suggested that AAP should register itself as “Aam Aadmi Builder and Developer Private Ltd” instead of a political party.

He accused the government of seizing farmers’ fertile land and now trying to provide a justification for Arora’s misconduct through a June 26 Cabinet decision on an industrial plot conversion policy. The land in Mundian Kalan in Ludhiana was acquired for industrial purposes, which was instead used for building a residential colony, a move he called entirely illegal, as land acquired for one purpose cannot be used for another.

--IANS

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