Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that his officer on special duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman was ready to join investigation if he received summons from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) through the proper channel.
Mann said that he (OSD) was not going anywhere and was ready to appear before the central investigating agency. “We are the ready for any probe,” the chief minister said in response to a media query about the CBI investigation against his OSD and five others as well as subsequent raids at multiple locations, including the CM’s camp office.
After the searches, Mann had claimed that the CBI found nothing incriminating and had effectively given a “clean chit” to his government.
Ghuman is among the six accused named by the CBI in connection with a corruption case involving alleged bribery and influence-peddling. The federal agency had registered a 251-page FIR on October 5 following the Punjab and Haryana high court’s order to investigate the information uncovered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during a money-laundering probe. All six were summoned by the agency on Wednesday for questioning, but they did not appear.
Mann, who was answering media questions at his residence in Chandigarh after inaugurating a government portal, alleged that the CBI raids implied that the BJP had started its election campaign. He said this was their style – raiding opponents two-three months before the elections. “They did this in West Bengal, Delhi, Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The raid at the CM’s camp office in Punjab means the state elections are on schedule. The CBI has several 10-15 years old cases, but do they take such quick action. This was all planned,” he alleged.
The CM said they would not find anything as his government was taking steps and making things online to curb corruption. “People know why we are in politics. We are not from political background. We are not here to mint crores or have share in contracts, hotels and buses,” he said.
Earlier, Mann launched HUNAR – Hub for Upskilling, Networking and Access to Rozgar – a platform for connecting students, institutes, and employers to facilitate industry hiring. Industry minister Aman Arora was also present.