AAP's party fund scam should be probed by ED: Punjab Congress

Chandigarh, Feb 14 (IANS) Seeking an impartial probe from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Friday, accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government of misusing its influence and machinery to extort the party funds from Punjab State Power Corp Ltd (PSPCL) officials.

“The so-called honest party blatantly misused the government machinery in Punjab to extort money with the sole purpose of funding the recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections. Through its Cabinet ministers, the AAP threatened the government officers in various departments and forcefully collected the party funds,” Bajwa said in a statement.

Applauding the courage of the office-bearers of the PSEB Engineers' Association, Bajwa said the association has been the first to blow the whistle to raise this corrupt practice. “However, it seems to be a deep-rooted scam to forcefully collect party funds from several other Punjab government departments with fraudulent means. It appears to have been going on ever since the AAP got hold of power in Punjab.”

“The Vigilance Bureau of the state government has already been working under pressure from the AAP government. Instead of unearthing the truth, the bureau would certainly attempt to hush up the matter. Hence, I strongly demand that the matter should be investigated by the ED or CBI,” the Congress leader said.

Bajwa said that if probed properly, it would turn out to be a big scam perpetrated by Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO. The scam was allegedly committed with the assistance of two former senior officers of the PSPCL, who are considered to be the blue-eyed men of the minister.

He said on the one hand the government has been instructing government officials to take measures to end corruption, on the other hand, it has indulged knee-deep in corruption. “The vicious intentions of the AAP have once again been unmasked. Dozens of its ministers' and leaders' names have earlier been cropped up in highly corrupt and extortion cases. However, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann initiated no actions against them,” Bajwa added.