Punjab Vigilance Bureau summoned former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday for questioning in an alleged disproportionate assets case. The Congress leader has been asked to appear at the Vigilance Bureau’s headquarters in Mohali on April 20.
This is the first instance where Channi is being called for questioning in this case. The vigilance bureau had initiated an inquiry on November 18 last year. The bureau is investigating the allegations on Channi that he had amassed assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
Earlier, the Vigilance Bureau on March 7 had issued a lookout circular against Channi to prevent him from flying abroad.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led (AAP) Punjab government of using its last weapon, the vigilance bureau, as it faced a 'humiliating defeat' in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll. He said that Channi has faced much bigger threats in the past than just a probe, he will come out stronger than before.
Warring took to Twitter to say, "Facing certain & humiliating defeat in Jalandhar by-poll @AAPPunjab chooses to resort to its last weapon, the vigilance bureau. @CHARANJITCHANNI has faced bigger threats than an enquiry & I am sure he will come out stronger."
Later in a statement, Warring accused the AAP government of being "anti-Dalit" and acting on a "design to target and harass Dalit leaders". He said, "Be it Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, and now Charanjit Singh Channi, this regime has nothing to show against them and is just satisfying its ego to punish the Dalit population who did not vote for AAP."
The polling for the Jalandhar parliamentary seat is scheduled to take place on May 10 and the counting of the votes will be done on May 13.
The by-poll was necessitated as the Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary died at the age of 76 in January. He suffered a cardiac arrest during Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jalandhar's Phillaur.