Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that his officer on special duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman was ready to join investigation if he received summons from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) through the proper channel.
Mann said that he (OSD) was not going anywhere and was ready to appear before the central investigating agency. “We are the ready for any probe,” the chief minister said in response to a media query about the CBI investigation against his OSD and five others as well as subsequent raids at multiple locations, including the CM’s camp office.
Earlier, Mann launched HUNAR – Hub for Upskilling, Networking and Access to Rozgar – a platform for connecting students, institutes, and employers to facilitate industry hiring. Mann, who was answering media questions at his residence in Chandigarh after inaugurating a government portal, alleged that the CBI raids implied that the BJP had started its election campaign. “They did this in West Bengal, Delhi, Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The raid at the CM’s camp office in Punjab means the state elections are on schedule. This was all planned,” he alleged. “People know why we are in politics. We are not from political background. Industry minister Aman Arora was also present. Singh agreed to the deferment to enable Justice Nagu to go through the state government’s challenge but pressed for the matter to be taken up at the earliest.
The CBI has several 10-15 years old cases, but do they take such quick action.
After the searches, Mann had claimed that the CBI found nothing incriminating and had effectively given a “clean chit” to his government. He said this was their style – raiding opponents two-three months before the elections. The CM said they would not find anything as his government was taking steps and making things online to curb corruption. We are not here to mint crores or have share in contracts, hotels and buses,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: A bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu agreed to hear the matter on Friday after senior counsel Vikas Singh, appearing for the Punjab government, pointed out the urgency and sought an interim direction that the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) “may not precipitate the matter”. Earlier reporting noted: The bench was told that the case file had not reached Justice Nagu, who was sitting as the puisne judge on the bench, in time.
Earlier reporting noted: Punjab CBI probe: SC puts off state’s plea, declines interim order The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred by a day the Punjab government’s challenge to a high court order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a criminal case into alleged corruption linked to chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s office, refusing to pass any interim order against the probe without first allowing both judges on the bench to examine the matter.
