Chandigarh: The Punjab Congress on Monday welcomed the Punjab and Haryana high court’s decision to hand over the probe into alleged scams, including cash-for-transfer, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and demanded accountability from those responsible for causing losses to the state exchequer.Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Pargat Singh said the high court’s decision in the corruption case linked to the chief minister’s office should now be followed by a fair, impartial, transparent and time-bound investigation, with no delay, political pressure or attempt to dilute the probe.“Everyone responsible for causing loss to Punjab’s exchequer must be held accountable, regardless of how powerful or influential they may be,” Pargat said.He recalled that the Aam Aadmi Party had come to power promising to fight corruption and strengthen the Lokpal. “If corruption has now reached from the MLA level to the chief minister’s office, there must be complete accountability. Punjab’s exchequer belongs to its people. Every rupee must be accounted for,” the PPCC chief said.“Today, the corruption case linked to the CM’s office has come under the high court’s scrutiny, with the matter being taken forward firmly,” he said.“My message to Punjab’s MLAs and officers is: AAP is a sinking ship. The time has come to jump ship,” the Jalandhar Cantt legislator added.Leader of the opposition in the Punjab assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, demanded immediate resignation of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, saying the Punjab and Haryana high court’s decision to direct an independent CBI investigation had raised serious questions about the functioning of the Mann govt.Bajwa said the high court had held that the particular case required investigation by an independent agency, directed the CBI to take action in accordance with the law, and ordered it to submit a status report within two months.“The AAP govt proudly advertises Bhagwant Mann as an ‘imaandar (honest)’ chief minister. If govt is truly so honest, why did the high court find it necessary to bring in an independent agency to investigate the matter?” the Congress functionary added.He said the CM cannot escape the question of how such serious things could happen in and around his own office without his knowledge.“If Bhagwant Mann genuinely did not know what was happening in the CMO, then what exactly is he doing as chief minister? Is he so disconnected from the functioning of his own govt that he has no idea what is happening under his nose? And if he did know, then he must tell Punjab what he knew, when he knew it and what action he took,” the Qadian MLA added.Gurdaspur MP and senior Congress functionary Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the Enforcement Directorate’s letters to the Punjab Police reportedly named Rajbir Ghuman, OSD to CM, in connection with alleged influence over transfers, postings and tenders.Randhawa said the state chose not to register a case, and the high court has now handed the probe to the CBI. “If these allegations are ultimately proved, the bigger question is: how deep does the rot run in a system that came to power promising to uproot it? So much for the ‘badlav’ that AAP promised Punjab,” he added.
