Mining allegations by Akali Dal leader frivolous: Punjab CM

Chandigarh, Jan 23 (IANS) Reacting strongly to the "baseless and frivolous" allegations levelled against him by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Majithia, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi dared him to present even a single proof that indicates his involvement in sand mining across the state.

"I have never denied my relationship with my nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey and being a relative he might be present at some of my functions. It is not a crime, if I get clicked with my relatives at my son's marriage or some other functions," Channi said in a statement, while categorically denying his any link in Honey's money laundering case investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Lashing out at Majithia for the slanderous and misleading campaign against him, Channi said the SAD leader is dancing on the tunes of the BJP government and is trying to take revenge from him for booking him in an NDPS case as earlier former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who is in cahoots with the SAD-BJP, had covered up his sins.

Lambasting Majithia, Channi said: "Let me remind Majithia that he was investigated by ED for his relations with drug peddlers and a drug kingpin named him for sheltering and facilitating smuggling of drugs.

"Majithia's photos were with them, does it mean he knew them and sheltering them?"

The Chief Minister asked Majthia, former Chief Minister Parkash Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal to clear their stand that what relationship they have with notorious drug peddlers, including Anwar Masih, Bittu Aulakh, Jagdish Bhola, Gurdeep Ranu and Satpreet Satta, with whom they usually shared political stages and had also attended public functions with them.

Calling ED's raid and opposition scurrilous attacks a "political vendetta" ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections, Channi said: "The BJP is using central agencies to take revenge from me after PM Modi's fiasco and opposition is now taking now playing politics over the issue in Punjab."

"Being a Chief Minister I get clicked with thousands of people every day, does it mean, I am linked to them?" he questioned Majithia, who is a brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and being investigated for running drug peddling business and sheltering drug peddlers.

Majithia, who has annihilated the future of Punjab's youth during the SAD-BJP governance for 10 years, now questioning his integrity is amusing, the Chief Minister said.

Reacting to audio recordings of the Salapur village Sarpanch Iqbal Singh and his son Binder naming Chief Minister's name, Channi said if a person is taking his name being CM for personal gain, it doesn't mean that he is associated with them.

"They all are afraid and annoyed of me for selfless working for four months and spending government funds on the welfare of people, which they want to utilize on building their multi-crore empires," he added.