Bhagwant Mann on Sidhu Moosewala: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was like his 'younger brother'. He was replying to questions from Rajat Sharma in the show 'Aap Ki Adalat', telecasted on Saturday (June 17) on India TV.
On popular singer Moosewala's murder, the Punjab chief minister said, "Moosewala was like my younger brother. He was an artiste, a big one. He had even crossed the language barrier. The day that incident happened, there were two gunmen at his home, whom he did not take with him. He had a specially made bulletproof vehicle, which he did not take. The reason is not only this. Every death is sad for us.”
“We arrested 29 gangsters, three were killed in an encounter, nearly 3,000-page chargesheet was filed. On our part, we are not trying to protect anybody who provides political asylum (patronage) to gangsters. We are with the people of Punjab. Who patronized the killers? They belonged to other parties. Now those mafias are no more. All the mafias are gone, sand mafia, land mafia, transport mafia. Everything is over. That's why they shower abuses at me because I don't have to earn money from them,” Mann added.
Punjab CM on withdrawal of security of 122 MLAs and ministers
On the withdrawal of security given to 122 MLAs and ministers, including ex-MLAs, Mann said that they take security guards but do not take security work from them. "They take security guards but do not take security work from them. There are many in Punjab Police, we are still searching for them, who used to rear poultry, do housekeeping, were dropping children to schools, in the name of security. After all, what risk do they have? If you are a Janata Ke Sewak, then go to the janata."
Sidhu Moosewala, whose real name was Shubhdeep Singh, was shot dead by six assailants at Jawahar Ke village in Punjab's Mansa district on May 29 last year. His distinctive style and powerful lyrics captivated audiences across the globe.
Punjab CM on corruption
Mann has warned his party workers not to indulge in corruption. "I won't spare anybody, not even my close relative if he is found indulging in corruption", he said. He was asked why AAP MLAs and ministers fear him because nobody can predict when Mann will sack whom.
Mann: "And also, nobody knows who will be made a minister. This is good. Everybody must have aspiration to become a minister. And if anybody commits wrong, even if he is my close relative, he will be punished. I have already said, 15 months have passed, even if I took one rupee or misappropriated one rupee of public money, it will be equivalent to taking one tablet of sulfa (poison). Nobody can give a guarantee more than this in today's age."
It may be recalled that in August last year, Mann had sacked Health Minister Vijay Singla following complaints of corruption, while in February this year, AAP MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta was arrested by Vigilance Bureau on charges of corruption.
Rajat Sharma: Is this a tradition in Punjab not to nail those in the family, whether it is Badal or Amarinder's family?
Mann: "Exactly, this is the sad part. First we sacked our Health Minister, then one of our MLAs was sacked. If we catch others for corruption, we have to clean up our house too. Our election symbol is 'broom', cleaning up is a must. The broom will be used wherever clean-up is required. I have a single agenda: not to allow misuse of public money, even if it was done 10 years ago, or 15 years ago. Main uska hisaab loonga. We caught a former Congress minister (Sundar Sham Arora). A currency counting machine was recovered from his home. The huge luxury house was made with costly marble and had spacious rooms. Why was a counting machine there? It is normally used in banks. It means, they used to get cash daily, and they needed a counting machine to count the cash. Itna loot ke le jaogey kahan? He built a huge house, and where is he staying now? Inside a cell in jail."
