Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today accused former CM Capt Amarinder Singh of being in cahoots with UP gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, saying he facilitated the sale of prime Waqf Board land in Ropar to his sons. Pritpal Singh Baliawal, spokesperson for Capt Amarinder, denied the allegations.
Interacting with mediapersons here, Mann said while Capt Amarinder had claimed he didn’t know Ansari, it was surprising besides ensuring a cosy stay for him at the Ropar jail, his government allowed him to secure prime land. He dared Captain to explain as to how Ansari’s sons — Abaas and Umar — managed to get Waqf land without his connivance. “I can furnish more proof of his ‘hobnobbing with Ansari’,” he claimed. The CM said before feigning ignorance over the issue, the BJP leader should ask his son Raninder Singh, who had met Ansari many times. Mann claimed Ansari was brought from UP to Punjab to accord him VVIP treatment in jail, adding the UP Police had to approach the apex court, after making 25 attempts, to get back his custody.Baliawal, however, said: “It is incorrect that Capt had allotted Waqf land to Ansari’s sons. We need to check the exact date when the land was first leased to him. However, the present government has twice renewed the lease of this land in favour of Ansari’s sons. Mann has accused Raninder of links with Ansari. Raninder was neither part of the government, nor active in the Congress then.”
