Chandigarh, Aug 18 (IANS) Former Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Tuesday hit out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigation into alleged irregularities and the reported involvement of intermediaries linked to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
He said the revelations reported in findings of ED’s “61 instances of suspected wrongdoing in the Chief Minister’s Office” are extremely serious and raise fundamental questions about the functioning of the state government.
Bittu added that the Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit will not allow this issue to be brushed under the carpet.
“Until Bhagwant Mann resigns and gives a satisfactory explanation to the people of Punjab, the Punjab BJP will continue to take this battle to the streets and fight it through every legal and democratic forum available to us.”
“The ED material explains alleged interference in transfers and postings, policy and administrative decisions, arms-licence matters, land and real-estate dealings, access to confidential government information, and alleged payments and other benefits.”
“The Chief Minister cannot continue to hide behind the façade of personal honesty when an investigation has raised such serious questions about what was allegedly happening from the corridors of his own office. Bhagwant Mann must answer to the people of Punjab.”
Bittu said the ED specifically refers to WhatsApp communications and other material allegedly showing private individual Nitin Gohal’s involvement in influencing transfers and postings of government officials.
The document also refers to the alleged circulation of draft transfer orders and confidential information before such matters entered the public domain.
The former Union Minister said the issue is not merely about one individual.
“This is about the credibility of the entire Punjab government. If officials, intermediaries and people operating around the CMO were allegedly able to influence postings, policy decisions, licenses, tenders and government approvals, the Chief Minister owes Punjab a complete explanation: who authorised this system, who benefited from it and how high up did the chain of influence go?” Bittu said and further pointed to the issue of arms license and alleged involvement in land transactions and dealings connected with real-estate developers.
The document records several instances that, according to the investigation, require further examination, he added.
–IANS
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