Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit (File photo)A joint SAD-BSP delegation Friday urged Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to order a probe into allegations of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party that its legislators were being offered money by the BJP in a bid to topple the six-month-old government.
The delegation led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manpreet Singh Ayali and lone BSP MLA Nachhatar Pal said that Finance Minister Harpal Cheema had earlier submitted a complaint to the state police chief claiming that his party’s 10 MLAs were offered bribes to switch sides. “Even though the complaint was submitted on September 14, no one has been named in the case and no arrest has been made even after 15 days,” said Ayali.
Asserting that this reflected the “incompetence” of police, the delegation urged the Governor to order a probe by the CBI or the ED or direct the government to initiate a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the High Court or Supreme Court. “This is also necessary as mobile phones of the legislators concerned need to be seized and subjected to a forensic examination,” Ayali added.
The delegation also urged the Governor to “hold AAP accountable for squandering public funds on a PR exercise aimed at furthering its party agenda at the cost of Punjabis besides advising the government to hold discussions on the real issues of Punjabis in the ongoing special session of the Vidhan Sabha”. The delegation also targeted AAP for bringing a confidence motion in the Assembly, claiming there was no provision in the rules of procedure of the Vidhan Sabha for bringing such a motion