Probe assets of MLAs with sudden jump in wealth: Jakhar

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar has urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to order a high-level probe into the assets of Punjab MLAs, alleging that several legislators, who once travelled on bicycles, now own luxury cars worth crores and sprawling farmhouses.

In a letter to the CM, Jakhar pressed for an investigation into the drug money trail under the direct supervision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Jakhar alleged that many sitting MLAs had become rich in the past few years and it seemed ill-gotten drug money was being circulated to reach politicians – the highest beneficiaries.

Following Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s explosive allegation that the Punjab CM’s post was on sale for Rs 500 crore during the Congress regime, Jakhar said even tickets for MLA elections and ministership were on sale. “It is across parties. There should be a massive probe into the assets of all sitting MLAs of Punjab,” he told The Tribune.

He said only an impartial, court-monitored probe could expose the “mighty and powerful” end beneficiaries of the drug trade that had devastated the state.

Jakhar wrote that the quantum of money involved indicated large-scale money laundering, calling for agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate to be brought into the investigation or any other agency deemed appropriate by the Chief Justice.

He stressed that ministers, MLAs, party presidents, party in-charges and leaders across political parties must be included in the scrutiny. Simply filing income tax returns, he said, was not sufficient to explain the sudden jump in wealth.

Offering himself as an example, Jakhar said he was willing to be the first to undergo such a probe as a mark of sincerity.

Arguing that the judiciary and executive should remain independent, he said the CM must formally request the intervention of the Chief Justice to initiate a supervised investigation into the flow of illicit money from both drug trafficking and illegal mining operations, including sand mining.

Jakhar urged the CM to act swiftly, saying only a credible and transparent probe could restore public faith and demonstrate the government’s seriousness in tackling Punjab’s deep-rooted illegal economy.

Chugh seeks CBI probe into ‘corruption’ in Cong

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged financial corruption in the Congress.

Taking note of the claim made by Navjot Kaur Sidhu that former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa allegedly sold the Congress Assembly tickets in Rajasthan, Chugh said such allegations must be investigated as these reflected gross financial corruption under the Congress leadership, led by the Gandhi family. Chugh also referred to a fresh chapter of corruption in Punjab involving protected forest and government land in the Shivalik range. He said the people of Punjab wanted to know why the Congress leadership had chosen to suspend Navjot Kaur Sidhu at the very moment when she had flagged a major environmental and land-grabbing scandal that directly concerned powerful political interests.

Chugh said Navjot Kaur Sidhu had clearly alleged that thousands of acres of the Shivalik foothill land, protected under the Punjab Land Preservation Act and forest regulations, was under illegal occupation by VVIPs without legal registry.

Chugh also demanded a comprehensive CBI inquiry into the entire Shivalik land encroachment.