In a setback to Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, just days before the Punjab polls, his nephew Bhupendra Singh has reportedly admitted to ED having taken cash of Rs 10 crore as a bribe to facilitate sand mining operations in Punjab, says Times Now.
The development comes just a day after Channi was appointed as the CM-face of Congress in Punjab. The ED has already put these facts before the court while seeking remand of Channi’s kin.
Sources have told Times Now that the admission was made during the interrogation and a further probe is underway to investigate the matter further.
On Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced that Channi will be the CM face of Congress in Punjab Assembly elections 2022. Shortly afterward, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) slammed Congress and said that it was a ‘victory of the sand mafia’.
“It is Punjab’s decision. It is not my decision. I didn’t decide. I asked workers, candidates, MLAs, people, the youth of Punjab. What people said has led me to my final decision,” Rahul Gandhi said while announcing Channi as the CM candidate.
“It’s the victory of the sand ‘mafia’. Their CM face is a sand ‘mafia’,” said SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Punjab goes to the polls in a single phase on February 20. Results for the Punjab Assembly election 2022 will be declared on March 10.
