Chugh demands CBI probe into political financial corruption in Punjab

Chandigarh, Dec 9 (IANS) BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Tuesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged financial corruption in the Congress.

Taking a strong note of the claim made by Navjot Kaur Sidhu that former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa sold the Congress Assembly tickets in Rajasthan, Chugh said such allegations needed to be investigated because they reflected gross financial corruption in the Congress led by the Gandhi family.

He said as it is some of the Gandhi family members are on bail in a corruption case, the disclosures made by Navjot Kaur 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 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 the 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 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 immediately 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.

--IANS

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