Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Tuesday alleged that gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari's two sons were given prime land of the Waqf Board in Rupnagar district during Amarinder Singh's rule in the state.
Mann also took a dig at Amarinder Singh for claiming that he never met Ansari and told the former chief minister to know from his son Raninder Singh how many times he met the gangster.
The Punjab government on Monday issued a notice of recovery to Amarinder Singh and Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, a day after Mann said he would recover from them the Rs 55 lakh legal fee for keeping Ansari in the Rupnagar jail in the state.
Randhawa has threatened to file a defamation case against Bhagwant Mann for "character assassination". Randhawa also contested the amount of Rs 55 lakh as claimed by the CM, stating that the actual fee of a senior advocate in the Ansari matter was Rs 17.60 lakh.
Ansari was in the Rupnagar jail from January 2019 to April 2021 in an extortion case registered in Mohali, before the Supreme Court directed the Punjab government to hand over the gangster-politician's custody to the Uttar Pradesh Police.
Interacting with reporters here, Mann claimed that a piece of prime land of the Waqf Board in Rupnagar was given to Ansari's sons Abaas and Umar.
Amarinder Singh has been repeatedly claiming that he did now know Ansari but it is surprising that besides ensuring a "cosy stay" to the gangster in the jail, his government "felicitated" him in securing the prime land, the Punjab chief minister claimed.
He asked former chief minister Amarinder Singh to explain how this land was given to Abaas and Umar. If Amarinder Singh wants, more proof will be furnished over his "hobnobbing" with Ansari, Mann added.
Mann claimed that Ansari was given "VVIP' treatment in the jail in Punjab.
The Punjab chief minister alleged that Amarinder Singh always remained away from the people and did not bother about his duty towards them. He "failed" to perform his duty as an MLA, an MP and even as chief minister, Mann charged.
Over the issue of the pending rural development fund, the chief minister said his government will move the Supreme Court in the matter. The AAP government in Punjab has been accusing the BJP-led Centre of not releasing around Rs 3,500 crore of rural development fund.
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