Latest news with #SunilJakhar
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Drug money trail': Punjab BJP chief Jakhar writes to CM, seeks probe to track down end beneficiaries
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Monday wrote to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a probe under the supervision of the high court chief justice into the 'drug money trail' to track down its 'powerful end beneficiaries'. 'It is imperative to follow the money in the drug money trail, without which the exercise to root out drugs from Punjab is not only futile but a farce as well,' Jakhar said. 'Arresting thousands of drug addicts and small players will not make much difference. The elephant in the room has to be addressed,' he added. Under the 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' campaign launched by the AAP government in Punjab three-and-a-half months back, more than 17,000 drug smugglers have been arrested, and large consignments of drugs have been seized. 'The flow of money has to be established to catch the big fish and arrest the end beneficiaries, be it politicians across party lines or officials. The drug cartels in Punjab cannot thrive without some or the other kind of patronage,' Jakhar said. 'I am writing to you with hope and caution to draw your attention towards the criticalness of an urgent probe under the direct supervision of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu to track down the mighty and powerful end beneficiaries in the drug money trail, a primary source that has tormented Punjab,' the BJP leader said. 'This is important if your government wants to establish its credibility and resolve in its fight against drugs,' he added. Jakhar urged Mann to write to the chief justice, seeking his intervention to conduct a 'time-bound' probe by a credible agency, or multiple agencies, under his supervision to uncover the end beneficiaries in the drug money trail. Recovery of narcotics in Punjab goes into several thousand crores of rupees, 'which underlines the rot that exists', Jakhar said. 'The fortunes of several Punjab politicians have turned in the past few years, which cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. It raises a lot of stench and suspicion on the source of funding,' he said. The BJP leader also claimed that MLAs who rode bicycles now own luxury cars worth crores of rupees. 'Many have farmhouses spread over many acres. Since the quantum of money involved in the drug money trail is colossally huge, it reeks of money laundering, which can be probed by the Enforcement Directorate, or as deemed fit by the chief justice, since it could involve the high and mighty,' Jakhar said. Ministers, MLAs, party presidents, party in-charges, and leaders of all hues should be part of the investigation, he added. 'As the state BJP president, I offer myself to be the first to be probed as a mark of my and my party's sincerity and earnestness,' Jakhar said. 'Not just drug money trail, the probe should also include in its scope the trail of illicit money from mining and sand mafia so that the guilty can be brought to book,' he added.
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
'MLAs who rode cycles now own luxury cars', Punjab BJP chief seeks HC probe into drug money trail
Seeking the High Court Chief Justice-monitored probe into the drug money trail, state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Monday blamed Punjab legislators who rode cycles and now own luxury cars. In a missive to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the BJP chief said, 'It is imperative to follow the money to track down the powerful beneficiaries in the drug money trail if the government wants to establish its credibility and resolve to uproot the drug mafia from Punjab.' He sought the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu for setting up an appropriate 'time-bound' probe by a credible agency, or even a multi-agency probe, under the supervision of the Chief Justice to uncover the end beneficiaries in the drug money trail. 'Arresting thousands of drug addicts and small players won't make any difference in rooting out the drug menace. The flow of money has to be established to catch the big fish and arrest the end beneficiaries, be it politicians across party lines or officials. Without this, the government's claim in its fight against drugs in Punjab remains a farce,' Jakhar said, adding the drug cartels in the state cannot thrive without some or the other kind of patronage which has been there for some time now. Jakhar said the recovery of narcotics in 'Punjab goes into several thousands of crores, which underlies the rot that exists. At the same time, the fortunes of so many Punjab politicians have turned in the last few years. This raises a lot of stench and suspicion on the source of funding'. Without naming anyone, the BJP chief said, 'MLAs who would come on cycles now own luxury cars worth many crores. Many have several acres of farmhouses,' he said. 'Since the quantum of money involved in the drug trail is colossal, the money laundering case can be probed either by the Enforcement Directorate, or as deemed fit by the Chief Justice. Merely filing mandatory income tax returns by MLAs and others is not enough as there is a clear mismatch between their claims and the ground reality,' the BJP chief asserted. The ministers, MLAs, party presidents, party in-charges and leaders of all hues should be a part of the investigation by the agencies, Jakhar stressed, adding that he, as the BJP president, volunteers to be the first to be probed as a mark of his and his party's sincerity and earnestness. 'The CM should, on priority, write to the honourable Chief Justice for initiating a probe by any agency deemed appropriate. The probe should be under the supervision of the Chief Justice, without which the flow of money to end beneficiaries of the drug trade will not be possible,' the BJP president said. He said it would be prudent that the 'role of the judiciary and the executive remain separate and independent, which is why the CM should write to the Chief Justice under whose supervision the probe to establish the flow of money in the drug money trail can be initiated.' 'Not just the drug money trail, the trail of illicit money from mining and sand mafia also needs to be probed and the guilty brought to book,' Jakhar added.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Probe drug money trail to catch big fish: Punjab BJP chief Jakhar to CM Mann
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Monday wrote to chief minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a probe under the supervision of the high court chief justice into the drug money trail to track down its powerful end beneficiaries. 'It is imperative to follow the money in the drug money trail, without which the exercise to root out drugs from Punjab is not only futile but a farce as well,' Jakhar said. 'Arresting thousands of drug addicts and small players will not make much difference. The elephant in the room has to be addressed,' he said. Under the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign launched by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab three-and-a-half months ago, more than 17,000 drug smugglers have been arrested, and large consignments of drugs have been seized. 'The flow of money has to be established to catch the big fish and arrest the end beneficiaries, be it politicians across party lines or officials. The drug cartels in Punjab cannot thrive without patronage,' Jakhar said. 'I'm writing to you with hope and caution to draw your attention towards the criticalness of an urgent probe under the direct supervision of Punjab and Haryana high court chief justice Sheel Nagu to track down the mighty and powerful end beneficiaries in the drug money trail, a primary source that has tormented Punjab,' the BJP leader said. 'This is important if your government wants to establish its credibility and resolve in its fight against drugs,' he added. Jakhar urged Mann to write to the chief justice, seeking his intervention to conduct a time-bound probe by a credible agency, or multiple agencies, under his supervision to uncover the end beneficiaries in the drug money trail. Recovery of narcotics in Punjab goes into several thousand crores of rupees, which underlines the rot that exists, Jakhar said. 'The fortunes of several Punjab politicians have turned in the past few years, which cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. It raises a lot of stench and suspicion on the source of funding,' he said. The BJP leader claimed that MLAs who rode bicycles now own luxury cars worth crores of rupees. 'Many have farmhouses spread over several acres. Since the quantum of money involved in the drug money trail is colossally huge, it reeks of money laundering, which can be probed by the Enforcement Directorate, or as deemed fit by the chief justice, since it could involve the high and mighty,' Jakhar said. Ministers, MLAs, party presidents, party in-charges, and leaders of all hues should be part of the investigation, he added. 'As the state BJP president, I offer myself to be the first to be probed as a mark of my and my party's sincerity and earnestness,' Jakhar said. 'Not just drug money trail, the probe should also include in its scope the trail of illicit money from mining and sand mafia so that the guilty can be brought to book,' he added.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
AAP govt turns commission agent: Jakhar on land acquisition
Ludhiana: Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar accused the AAP government of conspiring to usurp 25,000 acres of land in Ludhiana and said that the state government was playing the role of commission agent for big real estate houses. He also said that both chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal were acting as land aggregators. The AAP government is colluding with real estate dealers to illegally usurp prime agricultural land of Ludhiana by cheating farmers, Jakhar said, adding that BJP would not allow such nefarious designs to succeed. "On June 19, residents of Ludhiana will cast their vote against the move to illegally acquire their land. They will weed out AAP's corruption," Jakhar said while addressing a press conference with Union minister Ravneet Bittu and BJP candidate Jiwan Gupta. Alleging corruption in the last three and a half years of AAP government, Jakhar demanded a high court-monitored probe to ascertain if the money being collected from drug trade and other illegal activities was leading to politicians of any party. He said that the probe could include Punjab Vigilance, IT, ED and other agencies to ensure impartiality. Jakhar said that if tracking ill-gotten money through IT returns filed before the Election Commission were that simple, how would a former MP have Rs 200 crore in his house. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo He said that the money trail should be followed to track the beneficiary and sources of income of all political leaders should be probed. Hinting at large-scale corruption, he said that those running mobile repair shops before elections were now constructing mansions in posh areas. Replying to a media query, Jakhar said that by not acting against corrupt Congress leaders, the AAP government had betrayed people of Punjab. Earlier, Jakhar expressed grief over the tragic Air India plane crash which claimed the lives of 241 passengers, including the crew. He expressed sympathies with the bereaved and paid tributes to two-time former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who was one of the victims. MSID:: 121829213 413 | Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AAP leader Baltej Pannu counters Sunil Jakhar on drugs & corruption in Punjab
Ludhiana: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Baltej Pannu responded sharply to BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar's remarks on the drug menace and corruption in the state, asserting that the AAP government is committed to tackling both issues. Speaking at a press briefing, Pannu said the drug problem in Punjab is not new and has persisted for over two decades. "Unlike previous governments that made hollow promises, the AAP government is taking concrete action against drug traffickers and their networks," he said. Pannu criticised the previous Congress-led government under Capt Amarinder Singh, alleging that it failed to act decisively. "During that time, only drug users were targeted, not the real culprits behind the supply chain," he claimed. He also challenged Sunil Jakhar, who served as Punjab Congress president during Amarinder Singh's tenure, to come clean on past corruption. "Capt Amarinder once took a file to Sonia Gandhi containing names of corrupt Congress leaders and ministers. Many of those individuals are now in the BJP. If Jakhar truly believes in transparency, he should hand that file over to the Enforcement Directorate," Pannu said. On the issue of corruption, Pannu defended the AAP government's record, stating that it has maintained a zero-tolerance policy since day one. "We have taken action against our own MLAs and ministers when necessary. No other government has shown this level of accountability," he added. Pannu concluded by questioning the track record of previous administrations. "How many corrupt leaders or officials were held accountable during the Akali-BJP or Congress regimes?" he asked. . MSID:: 121833071 413 | Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
