Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday alleged Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s family members have minted crores of rupees through illegal sand mining during his 111-day stint as CM.

Addressing a gathering in Bathinda, Badal said “Now after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the residence of the chief minister’s nephew and recovery of money and goods worth Rs 11 Crore, it is very much clear and the sand mafia in the state is being run by Channi”. She also demanded the self-proclaimed “poor” chief minister should tell Punjabis how the relative identified most closely with him was found to be in possession of Rs 11 Crore benami money.

The SAD leader said there were also reports that the CM had shifted huge amount of cash from his Morinda residence to his official accommodation in Chandigarh. Badal said “this is a very sensitive issue and must be probed thoroughly, preferably by a senior judge”.
The Member of Parliament from Bathinda said during the last five years the Congress government had completely ruined Punjab.

“All development works started by the erstwhile government led by Parkash Singh Badal were stalled. The government reneged on all promises made to each and every section of society. The poor and scheduled caste section of society was oppressed with social welfare schemes being severely pruned and even closed altogether,” she said.

Badal said despite such a track record the Congress party was trying to befool the people again after a change in the chief minister a little over three months back. “Grandiose schemes and measures were announced. But there was no change at the ground level. In fact people suffered more because the infighting in the Punjab Congress over the top chair led to an administrative breakdown and worsening of the law and order situation,” she added.

Lashing out at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Badal said the Delhi leader was trying to befool Punjabis with his cheap tricks. “It seems that after selling tickets for almost all constituencies in the state he has also sold the post if the party’s chief ministerial face by indulging in a sham phoney survey”.

She also asked AAP’s chief ministerial nominee Bhagwant Mann to tell Punjabis how a rubber stamp like him would oppose Kejriwal and stop the latter from continuing to try to transfer the river waters of Punjab and Haryana and Delhi and stopping power generation in four thermal plants of the state.