Hoshiarpur: In a press note issued by former Cabinet Minister and senior BJP leader Tikshan Sud, it has been stated that—regardless of how many claims Bhagwant Mann and the "Kejriwal camp" may make regarding delivering justice to the bereaved family in the case involving District Manager of the Warehouse Corporation, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa—their conduct clearly reveals that their true objective is to shield their minister, Laljit Bhullar, and to prevent the government's reputation from being tarnished.
He remarked that this "theatrical" government currently operating in Punjab had previously staged a charade of taking action against several of its ministers and MLAs. However, as soon as the public outcry subsided, those matters were invariably shelved and consigned to cold storage. In the Randhawa episode, the involvement of Minister Laljit Bhullar and his family members appears patently evident. Despite this, the reluctance displayed by the Mann government in registering an FIR against him serves as proof that the administration is intent on protecting him. It was only after intense agitation by opposition parties—and under the resulting pressure—that the arrest of the accused finally became possible.
Furthermore—in a truly astonishing turn of events—Laljit Bhullar was seen addressing the press while still in police custody; denying that he had been arrested, he claimed instead that he had voluntarily surrendered. Even after opposition parties and their MPs raised the matter in the Lok Sabha—and despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s offer to refer the case to the CBI—Bhagwant Mann appears to be shamelessly refusing to hand the investigation over to the central agency.
Sud asserted that if the government truly has no intention of shielding Laljit Bhullar, then why is it hesitating to transfer the case to the CBI? He argued that the government has assumed the contradictory roles of being the accused, the accuser, and the judge—a stance that stands in direct violation of the principles of natural justice. If the Mann government genuinely desires an impartial investigation into this matter, it should entrust the inquiry to either the CBI or a sitting High Court Judge. This is because, in the FIR concerning the forceful allocation of tenders—a case involving the forcible looting of government resources—the relevant legal sections were not included in the first place. Now, if an agency of the Punjab government continues to investigate the matter, there is absolutely no doubt that the case will be hushed up.