Withdrawal Of Corruption Case Against Amarinder By Badals

Was it a political vendetta or a quid-pro-quo between Badal and Amarinder? Quips Gurpreet Waraich

5 Dariya News

Chandigarh 09-Oct-2016

Taking serious note of the Badals’ withdrawal of corruption case against PPCC Chief Captain Amarinder Singh and latter’s claiming it as his exoneration, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) State Convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich today posed a query and asked was it a ‘political vendetta’ or a quid-pro-quo between Badal and Amarinder.The way in which the eight-year-old corruption case is being withdrawn by Badals indicates towards strong nexus between Badals and Amarinder Singh, who have initiated “Give & Take” game by smelling their humiliating defeat in the upcoming assembly polls in 2007, Waraich said adding that both know it very well that after AAP comes to power in Punjab, all corruption cases against them would be taken to the logical conclusion.“When Amarinder says he is exonerated by Supreme Court, he must know that he was not exonerated from the offence he has committed, but was only reinstated in Punjab assembly”, Waraich said adding that Amarinder’s claim that he was exonerated by the Apex Court was nothing else, but an attempt to mislead the people of Punjab.

“Rather Punjab & Haryana High Court had ordered reinvestigation in the case, which Badal Government failed to do and complete for obvious reasons ”, AAP convener said. Waraich said this is the best example where “Thief and Watchdog are hand in glove” while indicating to the strong nexus of Amarinder-Badal.Knowing it very well that they would not come into power in Punjab, Badals and Amarinder hatched a conspiracy to be soft on the corruption charges against each other and Amarinder did it by opposing the CBI probe against Majithia in drug racket and now it was the turn of Badals to reciprocate and they did it by weakening the corruption case against Amarinder, AAP leader said.Unveiling the chronology of the corruption case against Amarinder, Waraich said that in 2006 Amritsar Improvement Trust’s 32.10 acres of land was exempted from acquisition and was given to Veer Builders and colonizers private limited for colonization.

In 2006, when Captain Amarinder Singh was Chief Minister, the then Deputy Speaker Bir Devender Singh, who was also the congress leader, raised the issue of corruption in assembly in March 2006, he said adding that in 2007 after formation of SAD-BJP Govt, it decided in December to constitute a committee to investigate the corruption allegation against Amarinder.

In 2008 the Vidhan Sabha Committee submitted its report, holding the exemption of land as illegal, which caused the loss of Rs 360 crores to state exchequer. On the recommendation of Punjab assembly, Vigilance Bureau had registered FIR against Amarinder and four others for offences including corruption cheating, forgery, tampering of official record and criminal conspiracy in the land scam, Wariach said. Thereafter Amarinder was expelled from 13th Vidhan Sabha and in 2009 Vigilance Bureau completed its probe and accordingly filed a Charge sheet against 18 persons including Capt Amarinder Singh, he said.In 2014, Punjab & Haryana High Court ordered re-investigation in the case after Amarinder pleaded Political Vendetta by Badals. However it took more than one and a half year for the VB to begin the reinvestigation in the land scam and that too at a tardy and sluggish pace. Now, when nearly 4 months are left to Punjab elections, Badals have decided to withdraw the case to maintain the ‘sanctity’ of their nexus with the key accused in the case Captain Amarinder Singh.