There is a tussle going on between two ministers in the government of CM Charanjit Singh Channi. (Image: PTI/FILE).
Sensing an opportunity in the poll-bound state, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party have demanded a probe into the allegations.
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Two-month-old Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s government in Punjab finds itself in an embarrassment, an alleged corruption scandal between two senior ministers in the cabinet involving bribes for police transfers. Opposition organizations including Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have demanded a probe into allegations of irregularities in transfers of some SSP rank officers in the state. The issue was reportedly raised by minister Rana Gurjit Singh in the cabinet meeting on Thursday, following which there was a dispute between him and deputy CM and state home minister Sukhjinder Randhawa.
Sources said that after a heated argument in the cabinet meeting, following which both Randhawa and Rana parted ways, the issue was taken up with the party’s state in-charge Harish Chaudhary on Friday. He said a controversy has arisen after the induction of a new senior superintendent of police (SSP) in Kapurthala, apparently against the wishes of Rana, who is from the area.
While Sukhjinder Randhawa has not commented on the issue, his close aides have denied allegations of wrongdoing in the officer’s posting.
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Raising the issue, AAP’s Harpal Cheema said that Chief Minister Channi, who projects himself as a leader of the common people, is accountable about the posting of police officers made by his government.
SAD leader Bikramjit Majithia said, “It is shocking that cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh has accused the home minister of taking bribe from police officials. In the case of posting of police commissioners, the same allegations were made earlier also.
Majithia said that nepotism has reached such a height that all the police officers who were removed after 120 people were killed in the spurious liquor incident in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts have returned to their old posts. Similarly, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Sarabjit Singh, who was accused of selling Extra Neutral Liquor (ENA) in Rajpura, was reposted at Rajpura, he said.
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