The Hindu : National : Badal meets Manmohan, wants Amarinder dismissed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2004

National

National

Badal meets Manmohan, wants Amarinder dismissed

By Our Special Correspondent

Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal, MP, at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. — Photo: Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI, OCT. 18. The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party today demanded the dismissal of the Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, saying there were media reports that he and his son, Raninder Singh, were allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions.

Seeking the intervention of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, a joint delegation of the BJP and Akali Dal leaders met Dr. Singh and submitted a memorandum to him requesting him to order a probe by a Central agency.

Addressing a press conference here today, the SAD president, Parkash Singh Badal, his son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Rajya Sabha MP, and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, MP, said there were allegations of money laundering, a sports recruitment scam and a liquor scam. The Centre should order an inquiry either by the Enforcement Directorate or the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence into the alleged hawala transactions.

Mr. Badal said his party had "no faith" in Justice Nehra Commission set up by the Chief Minister. When a newspaper (Hindustan Times) investigated the matter, the Chief Minister put a "gag" on it, he alleged.

`Politically motivated'

Capt. Singh yesterday denied the charges made in the newspaper "as politically motivated, fabricated and concocted" and said he would file a criminal defamation case against the newspaper. Mr. Badal said that if the Centre did not take action, his party would be constrained to file a public interest litigation petition. "If the Government is serious about weeding out corruption, it should appoint a Lok Pal in all the States but the appointments to Lok Pal should be made by the Supreme Court, keeping it free of influence from the State Government." He said the Prime Minister had "assured us that he would get the issue investigated."

Irregularities alleged

The delegation, comprising 11 MPs from Punjab, also included the BJP MPs, Navjot Sidhu and Avinash Khanna. The memorandum alleged "irregularities" in the auction of liquor vends and the appointments of Deputy Superintendents of Police and demanded a CBI probe into such instances.

Capt. Singh today said the Central Revenue Intelligence had already looked into allegations against his son. "When the reports of the alleged hawala scam first came out in last December, I met the then Union Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, and urged him for a fair inquiry by a Central agency into the issue," he told reporters here when they asked him about Mr. Badal's memorandum to the Prime Minister.

"The demand made by the Akalis and the media reports have political overtones. The timing of the reports alleging my involvement was also politically motivated," the Chief Minister said adding that he was ready to face any inquiry. "I have taken a categorical stand on corruption, lot of bigwigs are involved in it and this looks like some sort of retaliation. The truth will finally emerge," he said.

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