Punjab elections: CM Charanjit Singh Channi cannot be poor, ED seized Rs 10 crore from his front man, says Sukhbir Singh Badal

LUDHIANA/FATEHGARH SAHIB:A chief minister, from whose front man and nephew the Enforcement Directorate seized Rs 10 crore in cash, gold and ill-gotten property papers of Rs 56 crore, cannot be called poor by any yardstick, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said here on Monday.
Sukhbir added that PCC president Navjot Sidhu, who said he would not work as a showpiece horse, has now been locked inside a stable by his own party leader Rahul Gandhi.
The SAD president, who was in Ludhiana to campaign for his party's candidates, was commenting on Rahul's claim that Channi was a poor chief minister. He said it is a known fact that Channi, who graduated from delineating illegal colonies to becoming a sand mafia kingpin, was worth more than Rs 500 crore.
"If we are to use Rahul Gandhi's yardstick to measure Channi's wealth then even the Gandhi family is very poor. Channi has not only betrayed Punjabis but even the scheduled caste community and weaker sections of the society. Why did he never raise his voice in favour of the scheduled caste community and weaker sections when he was a cabinet minister for nearly five years before becoming the CM? He did not raise his voice to protect the interests of 4.5 lakh scheduled caste students who were not only denied SC scholarship but the funds were embezzled by his cabinet colleague Sadhu Singh Dharamsot. He did not even object to the scrapping of lakhs of blue cards which entitled weaker sections to subsidised ration," the Akali leader alleged.
"No amount of announcements of the chief ministerial face can save the Congress and its sinking ship in Punjab. As far as (AAP national convener Arvind) Kejriwal is concerned, five years back he had asked for votes by making grandiose promises to Punjabis. However, he did not come back to the state for five years, 11 of his 20 MLAs even left the party. Today, he has come back to sell party tickets and earn crores of rupees. He has even given tickets to history sheeters and those with a shady past. AAP's Ludhiana North candidate Madan Lal Bagga was expelled from the SAD following complaints of his questionable dealings. The party's Ludhiana Central candidate is a rape accused and its Sanaur candidate is a proclaimed offender and has now left the campaign midway," he added.
Sukhbir also addressed public gatherings in support of R D Sharma in Ludhiana North. He said the law and order situation had totally collapsed during Congress rule as its ministers and legislators patronised gangsters.
"This is why extortions and ransom calls became the norm during the last five years," he said and promised to end gangster culture once and for all.
Accusing Kejriwal of never standing up for Punjab, he said, "In fact, he has constantly taken anti-Punjab stance in the Supreme Court on all important issues concerning the state. This includes transferring the Punjab's river water rights to Haryana and Delhi, closure of four thermal plants of Punjab and demanding registration of criminal cases against farmers of Punjab who had burnt their paddy stubble in desperation after failing to get any help from the state".
Addressing public gatherings in favour of BSP candidate Shiv Kumar at Bassi Pathana and SAD candidate Jagdeep Singh Cheema at Fatehgarh Sahib, the SAD president said while the Congress had not taken a single pro-people decision in the last five years, AAP had introduced corruption in Punjab politics by selling party tickets for crores of rupees to bad elements.
"This is why Punjabis have decided to reject both the Congress and AAP and repose faith in the SAD," he claimed.