The Congress on Monday accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab of targeting its “Hindu leadership” in the state to “help the BJP” in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, in a video he posted on Twitter, said: “The Bhagwant Mann government is doing exactly the same what BJP government is doing at the Centre — headline management to hide its failures and to initiate action against opponent political parties, defame them and demoralise workers of opponents.” पंजाब सरकार वैसे ही चल रही है जैसे मोदी सरकार। ▪️अपनी नाकामयाबी छिपाने के लिए हैडलाइन मैनेजमेंट करना। ▪️जीतो बदलाव के नारे पर लेकिन करो बदले की राजनीति। ▪️अपने आँगन का भ्रष्टाचार मत देखो। हमारे पूर्व मंत्री श्री ओपी सोनी पर की गई कार्यवाही इनकी ऐसी ही ओछी राजनीति का सबूत है। pic.twitter.com/16EJAgr146 — Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) July 10, 2023 “This conspiracy is very clear. It is to help the BJP. [Punjab Chief Minister] Bhagwant Mann is hatching a conspiracy to target Hindu leadership of the Congress,” Khera said. Referring to probes by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, he pointed out, “You saw what he did to our leader Vijay Inder Singla. You saw what they are doing to O P Soni. They also started issuing notices to Brahm Mohindra ji.” Soni, the former deputy CM of Punjab, was arrested from a mall in Chandigarh on Sunday. As per the Vigilance Bureau (VB), between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2022, the consolidated income of the former Deputy CM and his family was Rs 4,52,18,771, while the expenditure was Rs 12,48,42,692, which is Rs 7,96,23,921 or 176.08% more than his known sources of income. During this period, as per the VB, Soni had registered properties in the name of his wife Suman Soni and son Raghav Soni. The VB had earlier quizzed him, as part of its continuing probes into similar complaints against other leaders. In the 16 months since the AAP stormed to power in the state, at least 16 ex-MLAs of the Congress, including former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, former deputy CM Soni and eight former ministers — including Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Kangar, who both joined the BJP last year — have faced VB cases and probes. Of the four ex-ministers arrested in VB cases, three — Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Sham Sunder Arora (who joined the BJP in June) — are out on bail. The fourth one is O P Soni. The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa, also told The Indian Express on Monday that AAP was out to help the BJP in the run-up to 2024, by targeting the party's “Hindu leadership”. When pointed out that the VB has been probing leaders representing other religions and communities as well, Bajwa said that as per a “recent pattern”, it was clear that the AAP government was targeting Congress's “Hindu leadership” like Brahm Mohindra, Vijay Inder Singla and O P Soni, in their alleged “next list in the run-up to 2024 Lok Sabha elections” to benefit the BJP. The Congress's allegations come days after former Punjab PCC chief Sunil Jakhar was appointed the Punjab BJP chief. A Hindu Jat leader, Jakhar had quit the Congress to join the BJP in May last year, and was inducted as a member of the BJP's national executive, in December last year. He will formally take over as Punjab BJP chief at party office in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Bajwa said, “I have always said there is a tacit understanding between the AAP and the BJP. They are two sides of the same coin. The AAP supported BJP on Article 370 and CAA. Now, a Rajya Sabha member of AAP from Punjab has 'principally agreed' to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), at a time when its draft is not yet final. It was due to fear of a backlash that CM Mann had to subsequently give a statement opposing the UCC”. The Congress legislator from Qadian, Bajwa said, “The secular votes in the state were shared by the Congress and the AAP, while the Akali Dal banked on Panthic votes, and the BJP on Hindu votes.” He added, “The AAP is making attempts to demoralise the Congress cadre by targeting its party leadership, so that the terrified cadre joins its fold.” Asked how the probes indicated that AAP was helping the BJP, Bajwa said, “As the AAP doesn’t have a grassroots cadre, they are terrifying the Congress cadre by defaming the party leadership. This way they hope to woo the cadre to the AAP fold. But In the process, they are also pushing the Congress leadership towards the BJP.” He added, “The appointment of Sunil Jakhar as Punjab BJP president is an indication that the BJP has no ideology. Rather, it has signaled that ideology does not matter, so anyone can join it. The BJP chose as its state party president Jakhar, whose family has been associated with the Congress for 70 years, that too, just over a year after he joined the party. This is unprecedented.” AAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang trashed the Congress’s claims. “The Congress mentality is to divide society. Ever since the nation got Independence, Congress has been playing divisive politics. Law is taking its own course, irrespective of the religion, caste or community of the accused. Who are Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, Charanjit Channi, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot?” said Kang, referring to Sikh Congress leaders facing VB probes and adding that the VB was taking action as per law. Former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, and former ministers Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sangat Singh Gilzian are among Dalit faces of the Congress who are facing VB inquiries. Kang also said that among Congress leaders facing VB cases and probes were those who even former CM Amarinder Singh had admitted were involved in wrongdoing. “Mann sahab is committed to honouring his promise that the corrupt will face the music. Action is being taken as per law.” Ex-ministers and former Congressmen Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Kangar, who both joined the BJP last year after AAP's win, are also under the radar. So is sitting Congress MLA from Gurdaspur, Barindermeet Singh Pahra, in a DA complaint. Two Punjab AAP legislators, including a Cabinet minister, are also facing corruption cases. In May last year, barely two months after the AAP formed government in Punjab, CM Mann sacked health minister Dr Vijay Singla from his Cabinet over corruption charges. The MLA from Mansa was arrested by the state anti-corruption bureau for allegedly demanding 1% commission in public works tenders. He is out on bail. In February this year, the VB arrested Bathinda Rural AAP MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta, who, along with his personal assistant, had allegedly demanded Rs 5 lakh as bribe from a sarpanch in lieu of releasing government grants. He is also out on bail. In April, AAP MLA Goldy Kamboj’s father Surinder Kamboj was arrested by Punjab Police in an alleged extortion case. In January this year, Horticulture and Food Processing Minister Fauja Singh Sarari had to resign from the Mann Cabinet after months of pressure on the government and a notice over an audio clip, in which Sarari was purportedly heard making plans to extort money from foodgrain transporters.
