CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today questioned the silence of the Aam Aadmi Party government, particularly the Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development, Kuldeep Dhaliwal about serious allegations of land encroachment by the Lovely Professional University, Phagwara in district Kapurthala.
“Why is it so that the government has been dumb-stuck over the revelations?” he asked, adding, “or just because the owner of the university, Ashok Mittal happens to be the Rajya Sabha member from the AAP”.
The PCC president pointed out how the AAP government was gloating over evicting people from allegedly encroaching upon lands. “Most of these lands were in alleged possession of your political opponents or very ordinary people”, he said, while asking the government to explain its position on encroachment by the LPU.
He said, there are reports that the AAP government in connivance with the revenue department is even forcibly evicting genuine owners and those who have got relief from the court. “But when it comes to actual encroachment it has turned the other way, just because the encroacher happens to be an AAP MP”, he remarked.
Warring said, there appeared to be a clear link between the LPU owner Ashok Mittal first joining the AAP and then “managing” the surprising nomination to the Rajya Sabha against the claims of other senior party leaders. “In fact Mittal did not have any political background and his nomination came just out of blue”, he pointed out, while referring to the public knowledge about the “reasons and motivations” behind the AAP nominating him to the Upper House, which apparently has its roots in the panchayat land of village Hardaspura in Kapurthala district.
