Foreign assets case: Ex-Punjab CM Amarinder's son Raninder skips ED summons
Former Education Minister, MLA Pargat Singh, slams Centre for using agencies to muzzle voices
As expected, Raninder Singh, son of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, skipped his summons for Thursday before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Jalandhar.
Summonses for Thursday had been issued to Raninder Singh and for Friday to Captain Amarinder Singh in the 2016 case of alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Raninder had posted on his X account on Wednesday evening that he would cooperate fully with the investigation agency, fuelling speculations that he could come, but he did not turn up.
His father, Captain Amarinder Singh, is admitted to a Mohali-based hospital after a knee surgery. The father-son duo is facing allegations of concealing foreign assets through offshore entities and bank accounts in Switzerland.
The summons by the ED against the two after a gap of four years is being seen as an attempt by the BJP to use the central agency to muzzle his voice, especially after Capt Amarinder had given a series of interviews to the media recently.
Former Education Minister and MLA Pargat Singh, who had been defiant earlier against Captain Amarinder when he was in the Congress, fiercely condemned the ED summons issued to him.
He asserted that the moment Captain Amarinder raised pointed questions about his standing in the BJP and the party's utter disregard for Punjab's interests, central agencies swiftly clamped down to muzzle him.
Pargat Singh slammed the BJP for chronically weaponising the Central agencies to serve its political ends. Leaders from Opposition parties across India are being systematically targeted by the ED and other probes, he said, recalling "when Capt Amarinder stood firm as CM defending Punjab and its farmers, the Centre allegedly deployed agencies to undermine him—only to later pressure him into joining the BJP".
The shabby treatment meted out to Captain now serves as a stark warning to any Punjabi leader eyeing a switch to the BJP or AAP, he said.
The MLA also voiced deep concern for Capt Amarinder Singh's health, wishing him well-being while urging him to embrace a fulfilling post-retirement life—devoting time to writing books, family, and friends.
Pargat Singh issued a stern alert, "Punjab's political climate is deteriorating fast. AAP here apes BJP tactics without hesitation, shamelessly leveraging state agencies—even against its own MLAs—to file FIRs and derail cases from reaching logical conclusions. Governments are brazenly crushing or benching opposition voices and internal critics alike."
