Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi appeared before the Vigilance Bureau on Friday concerning a disproportionate assets case. Before entering the Bureau’s Mohali office at 11.10 am, the Congress leader criticized the state AAP government for extending the appearance date and claimed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s government was practising vendetta politics.
The Vigilance Bureau had initially asked Channi to appear for questioning on April 12. However, he requested another date to join the probe, which the bureau granted and asked him to appear on April 20. The bureau later extended the date to Friday. When asked about being questioned before entering the bureau’s office, Channi said the probe is purely political. Let them do what they want.
Addressing a press conference before reaching the bureau’s office, Channi launched a scathing attack on the AAP government in the state and said they could be tortured. He can be arrested or even killed but is ready to face it.
Earlier, during a media interaction while campaigning for the by-poll to the vacant Lok Sabha seat in Jalandhar, Channi attacked the AAP government on several issues and alleged that it had failed to meet the expectations of the Dalit community.
Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chowdhary accompanied Channi on Thursday. Who filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha by-election. Talking to the media on Friday, Channi said that I held a press conference in Jalandhar where I raised some issues.
The former chief minister was accompanied by Congress’s Punjab unit chief Amarinder Singh Raja Waring and senior party leaders, including Harish Chowdhary and Pratap Singh Bajwa. He also criticized the AAP government for extending the date of his appearance and alleged that it was part of the vendetta politics of the system. He called me on a public holiday when the offices were closed.
The offices were specially opened to harass Channi, and the day they chose is Baisakhi and the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. Channi said they could arrest, kill, torture, and send me to jail, do whatever you want. They can even send me behind bars Today. They may even kill me, but I am ready.
Channi said, “Today is the day of Dr Ambedkar Sahab, who taught us to struggle; I have been struggling since childhood. The Congress leader also said he could not stop raising his voice for the poor.
The Vigilance Bureau is probing allegations of amassing wealth disproportionate to Channi’s known sources of income. Last month, the bureau issued a lookout circular against the former chief minister. He returned to India late last year after spending several months in the US and Canada. Channi contested from Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur assembly constituencies but lost both. Channi replaced Amarinder Singh as chief minister in September 2021 following the latter’s abrupt exit.
