PRENEET TOLD TO CLARIFY ON FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS

Preneet Kaur, Congress candidate for this parliamentary seat and union minister of state for external affairs in the last Lok Sabha, has to reply within 48 hours if she has hidden any foreign-bank accounts in the latest nomination.

Her opponent from the AkaliBJP combine, Deepinder Singh Dhillon, had filed a complaint that she had concealed the foreign-bank accounts of even her son, Raninder Singh, from the Patiala election officer. Dhillon is a protégé of the three-time MP.

Based on his complaint, deputy commissioner Priyank Bharti, who is also district election officer, served Preneet Kaur a notice to seek her reply on the incomplete information in two days.

The Congress candidates dismissed the charges as “a political stunt”. In the complaint, Dhillon has mentioned the accounts that Preneet and Raninder opened in the Bank of Jersey in 2005. He has also stated the account numbers and some transactions.

Preneet submitted her nomination papers on April 7, and the appellate authorities found her documents in order. However, the papers of Raninder as covering candidate were rejected on April 10 after scrutiny.

Dhillon said he had demanded that Preneet be disqualified from the race for hiding important information. “Even Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy has accused her husband, Captain Amarinder Singh, of hiding similar details during his nomination,” said the rival candidate.

Preneet defended herself, saying: “I neither have account in any foreign bank nor do I know about what Dhillon is talking about. It is the election time and they have no concrete issue so they have to create one.”

District election of f i cer Priyank Bharti confirmed having received the complaint on Thursday evening and sending out the notice to Preneet.

CONG CANDIDATE FROM PATIALA REFUTES AKALI-BJP RIVAL CHARGE, SAYS DIDN’T CONCEAL INFORMATION