PTI Wires
ED Raids: AAP Leader Raghav Chadha Asks Punjab CM Channi To Explain Cash Seized From Nephew
PTI
Jan 20, 2022, 07:14 PM | Updated 07:14 PM IST
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Chandigarh, Jan 20 (PTI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha on Thursday asked Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to explain huge sums of cash recovered in raids by the ED from premises linked to his relative.
Chadha, who is AAP's Punjab co-in-charge, alleged that Channi's nephew had amassed “crores” of rupees and other assets in the past three-four months.
The ED on Wednesday had said seized cash amounting to over Rs 10 crore, including about Rs 8 crore from a relative of Channi, during raids conducted in connection with an anti-money laundering investigation against illegal sand-mining operations in Punjab.
In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said 'incriminating' documents related to 'illegal' sand mining and property transactions, mobile phones, gold worth more than Rs 21 lakh, and a Rolex watch worth Rs 12 lakh were also seized during the searches that ended on Wednesday.
“From where did this money come,” Chadha said, talking to reporters in Mohali.
“It is said that Channi's nephew did not have this much money four months back,” he said.
“Only in 111 days (Channi's tenure as CM before the model code of conduct came into force) if one nephew amassed Rs 10 crore then you can imagine how much wealth was made by the rest of the relatives. And think how much money Channi would have received,” alleged Chadha.
“And imagine how much he would have earned if he had remained the Chief Minister for five years.
“Channi saab left the Badals and captain sahib (Amarinder Singh) behind,” he said.
“The Congress party has been exposed today. Channi saab used to say I am an 'aam aadmi' and belong to a poor family. Today, Channi sahib's 'ghareebi' stands exposed before the people of Punjab,” he said.
Channi on Wednesday had accused the BJP-led central government of hatching a conspiracy to trap him in the case of which raids were a part.
Channi had alleged that the BJP was taking revenge for return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the state without attending the rallies he was scheduled to attend.
Modi was forced to return to the national capital from Punajb’s Ferozepur earlier in the month due to concerns related to a security breach.
Channi had also attacked Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal during his address.
He said Kejriwal called it a “political vendetta” when the son of his brother-in-law was held in 2018 for alleged irregularities in road and sewer development projects.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
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