Days after BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal appeared before the Vigilance Bureau in a land matter, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said he is fully aware of the "theatricals, couplets and self-proclaimed honesty" of the former finance minister.
Badal was summoned following a complaint by former MLA Sarup Chand Singla, who alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in a prime location in Bathinda.
Singla, who switched over from the Shiromani Akali Dal to the BJP, had alleged that Badal, as a minister, abused his position by converting commercial plots into residential plots for himself. In a statement, Mann said all of Punjab is aware of the former minister's "misdeeds".
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Badal, who was Punjab's finance minister for a fairly long period, "is hand-in-glove with the elements who ruined the state", Mann said. During his stint, "...the brazen loot of public money was allowed", he added.
The AAP leader said the state's finances were used according to the whims and fancies of the former minister, without bothering about the wellbeing of the masses. "I am well aware of the former minister's theatricals, couplets and self-proclaimed honesty … I am well aware of his tantrums to drive his own vehicle and paying the toll tax whereas the reality is far from this," said Mann.
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Badal, who was earlier with the Congress, had accused Mann of trying to suppress the voices of his political opponents with vigilance action. Mann should not consider him like Amrinder Raja Warring, the Congress' Punjab unit chief, Badal had said and stressed that he would never kowtow to the AAP leader.
