Rahul to Capt: Not happy with Rana controversy
CHANDIGARH: With the Captain Amarinder Singh government caught on the wrong foot on recent sand mining auctions, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed his displeasure to the Punjab chief minister over allegations of benami transactions against power and irrigation minister Rana Gurjit Singh.
Amarinder, who was at New Delhi to attend the ‘antim ardas’ of former Punjab DGP KPS Gill, met Rahul early in the day. Acting on the feedback Rahul received from Congress leaders in Punjab, including some MPs, he has reportedly asked Amarinder that the party’s image was suffering owing to the unsavoury row.
Rahul’s office had also sought a detailed explanation from one of Amarinder’s aides in the chief minister’s office (CMO) on the issue recently and the action taken by the government. They were informed about the judicial probe ordered by the government under Justice (retd) JS Narang, which has also been rubbished by the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the SAD. One of party’s MPs from Punjab is also learnt to have written to Gandhi, saying that the entire controversy has tarnished the party’s image in just two months of the new government coming to power and has demanded that Rana be sacked.
However, according to highly placed sources in the party, the CM is learnt to have told Rahul that they should not pronounce the minister guilty before completion of the judicial probe. With names of some Congress MLAs being involved directly and indirectly in the mining auctions, an overwhelming majority within the state Congress wants the auctions to be called off and held afresh and the minister to step down till his name is cleared.
Amarinder is also learnt to have discussed the cabinet expansion with Rahul.
RAHUL’S OFFICE HAD ALSO SOUGHT A DETAILED EXPLANATION FROM ONE OF CAPT’S AIDES IN THE CMO ON THE ISSUE RECENTLY
JALANDHAR: 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.
SADBJP TO HOLD STATEWIDE PROTESTS ON JUNE 9 TO DEMAND POWER MINISTER RANA GURJIT’S DISMISSAL