Action politically motivated to derail my electioneering: Bharat Bhushan Ashu

Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who is contesting the Ludhiana West bypoll, while reacting to the entire episode of receiving summons in a Vigilance case, involving alleged land fraud, to the suspension of the SSP, said the entire event was politically motivated to derail his electioneering and it was an attempt to implicate him in yet another false case in the midst of the campaigning, when the court has already quashed a Vigilance case against him.

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Ridiculing the government’s action of suspending the SSP, Vigilance, Ludhiana, Jagat Preet Singh, claiming that he had acted on his own, Ashu released a photograph where the AAP candidate, Sanjeev Arora, is seen addressing officials with the SSP in attendance.

On allegations that he was in touch with the SSP and got summons issued to himself to gather public sympathy, Ashu said: “I am so powerful that I got summons issued to myself. Was the previous CP, Kuldeep Chahal, also transferred by me and I also got DC Jitendra Jorwal transferred. Reality is that AAP is playing a dirty game and making officials scapegoats.”

“As the campaigning for the byelection is gathering pace and AAP is realising that they are losing the ground, a message has been sent to all 28 police stations in Ludhiana to dig out any old complaints pending against me so that I can be implicated and harassed,” he said.

The Congress candidate said the government had hoped that once they arrest him, others would be scared and they will stop campaigning. Instead, he pointed out, it boomeranged on them as there was public anger and outcry. Now, the government was trying to save its face by making the SSP a scapegoat. Earlier, Chief Director, Vigilance, SPS Parmar, was also suspended in a similar manner.

Senior party leader Rana Gurjeet said: “We were anticipating such desperate moves from the government, and they did it. AAP is trying to resort to all sorts of intimidating tactics against the Congress.”

Congress leader Pargat Singh cautioned officials to ensure that they did not act on verbal orders of AAP leaders.

He said the real Chief Minister of Punjab today was Arvind Kejriwal while Bhagwant Mann was “just in the name”.