Will expose dirty deals of all Cong MLAs: Sukhbir

Upping the ante against Punjab power and irrigation minister Rana Gurjit Singh, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party joint core committee meeting on Saturday decided to hold protests at all district headquarters in the state on June 9 to demand his immediate dismissal.

The minister has been accused of acquiring sand mines through ‘benami’ transactions during the recent auction.

Terming it an “open-and-shut case”, the parties alleged instead of taking action against Rana Gurjit, the Congress government had started a “cover-up exercise”. A joint delegation of the two parties will also submit a memorandum to the state governor on June 14 to demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, enforcement directorate and income tax authorities.

The joint core committee meeting, presided over by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab BJP chief Vijay Sampla, decided to hold the protest outside the offices of deputy commissioners between 11am and 2pm on June 9.

Sukhbir alleged that Justice JS Narang (retd), who is heading the one-man judicial inquiry ordered by chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh into the sand mine auction, is close to Rana Gurjit. The former deputy CM said the SAD-BJP would expose all “dirty deals” of other Congress legislators as well. “As many as 17 mines went to single bidders close to Congress MLAs, which indicates the entire process was tailor-made to transfer all mining sites to Congressmen,” he said.

BJP leader Vijay Sampla, meanwhile, spoke at length about the spate of Dalit atrocities across the state. “We will highlight the Congress government’s two-and-a-half-month performance and expose it during the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha session,” he said.