CHANDIGARH: Upset over denial of party ticket from the Kharar Assembly segment, senior Congress leader and former Punjab minister Jagmohan Singh Kang on Tuesday joined the Aam Aadmi Party.
Kang along with his two sons Yadwindra Singh Kang and Amrinder Singh Kang joined Arvind Kejriwal's party.
"Disenchanted with Punjab Congress- Jagmohan Singh Kang Saab, 3 time cabinet minister and MLA joins AAP along with his sons & Youth Congress leaders Yadavindra & Amrinder. @ArvindKejriwal ji enrolls them into the party. AAP Punjab is going strength to strength with each passing day," AAP leader and party's Punjab's co-incharge Raghav Chadha in a tweet.
The Congress gave the party ticket from Kharar seat in Mohali district to Vijay Sharma.
Kang had been blaming Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for allegedly opposing his candidature from this seat.
Ever since the Congress denied him the ticket, Kang had been threatening that his son Yadwindra Singh Kang would contest as an Independent from the Kharar seat.
Kang had been the minister for Animal Husbandry, dairy development and fisheries in the Amarinder Singh-led government in 2002-07.
Voting for Punjab's 117 Assembly seats will be held on February 20 and the counting will take place on March 10.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Monday said Punjab governor B L Purohit has asked the state police chief to probe into the alleged illegal sand mining racket in the state.
He said Governor Purohit ordered a high-level probe after an Aam Aadmi Party delegation recently submitted a memorandum to him, seeking his intervention for the registration of an FIR in the multi-layered illegal sand mining racket in the state.
The Punjab unit of AAP welcomes Governor Purohit's decision, Chadha told reporters here.
The governor has ordered the Punjab director general of police to conduct a high-level inquiry in the allegations of illegal sand mining, he said.
In a communication addressed to Punjab DGP V K Bhawra, the governor principal secretary J M Balamurugan, wrote, "I am directed by the Hon'ble Governor to forward a representation dated January 24 submitted by Raghav Chadha of the Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab."
"I am directed to request you to have an investigation done on this matter at the highest level. Action taken on this matter may kindly be intimated to this office," Balamurugan wrote to the DGP.
This communication was shared by the AAP with the media here.
Chadha, meanwhile, appealed to the DGP and Punjab Police not to come under any kind of political pressure and register an FIR in the matter after conducting a fair and independent investigation into the whole matter.
Chadha said, "We had already exposed the sand mafia in Chamkaur Sahib, the assembly constituency of Chief Minister Channi".
He said the AAP will be keeping an eye on the investigation by the Punjab Police as it is a very serious matter.
He also targeted Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi over the Enforcement Directorate's recent seizure of cash amounting to over Rs 10 crore, including about Rs 8 crore from a relative of the CM, during raids conducted by the central agency during a probe into an anti-money laundering case against illegal sand-mining operators in the poll-bound state.
Channi has categorically denied having any link with his relative's case and accused the political opponents of running a "slanderous and misleading" campaign against him.
"When people of Chamkaur Sahib were seeking answers to the illegal sand mining, Channi ji went to Bhadaur to contest the polls from the second seat. But we want to tell him that our party candidate will win from Chamkaur Sahib and Channi will be defeated by the AAP nominee from Bhadaur as well," he said.
Chadha said people will not make those victorious from whose relative crores of rupees were seized by the ED.
"If during 111 days of CM's tenure, crores are seized from one relative, he cannot wash his hands from this. These are the people who looted Punjab and that is why we are seeking one chance from people to bring an honest government to power and strengthen the hands of AAP," he said.
Replying to a question on Punjab Congress president, Chadha claimed, "Navjot Sidhu's sole aim is to become the chief minister, he is not concerned about the welfare of people of Punjab."
Verbal duel breaks out between Sidhu, Amarinder
Punjab Lok Congress chief Amaridner Singh Monday predicted an "abysmal" defeat for Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar East, saying the Punjab Congress chief won from this seat in the past only with the support of the BJP.
He also dubbed as a "farce", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's announcement that the party's chief ministerial face will be decided with inputs from the ground.
After filing his nomination papers from Patiala Urban and inaugurating his party office in the city, Singh termed "ridiculous" Sidhu's charge that he was behind the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) fielding Bikram Singh Majithia against the state Congress chief.
"I am not Majithia's uncle," said the PLC leader, adding that with 38 per cent of the voters in Amritsar East being Hindus and 32 per cent SCs, Sidhu's defeat was certain.
The BJP, as part of the alliance with PLC and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt), has fielded a strong candidate from the constituency, he added.
The SAD has fielded Majithia from Amritsar East seat from where Sidhu is seeking re-election in the February 20 state assembly polls.
On Rahul Gandhi's statement that the Congress would announce its chief ministerial candidate in the state after taking inputs from the ground, Singh said this was just "theatrics".
He pointed out that as per procedure, the people elect their MLAs and then the Congress Legislature Party decide on the chief minister.
"So all this talk is just drama."
During a virtual rally in Jalandhar a few days ago, Gandhi had said the Congress would go to the Punjab assembly polls with a CM face which would be declared after taking inputs from party workers.
On farmers' decision to contest the upcoming assembly polls, Singh said it was their right to do so.
Singh said he had always personally always supported farmers, and pointed out that his government had announced jobs and Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the farmers who died during the agitation against the farm laws.
He exuded confidence that the PLC-BJP-SAD Sanyukt alliance will form the next government in Punjab He said the decision to allow some of the PLC candidates to contest on the BJP symbol was taken keeping in mind the voter demographics.
While four PLC candidates will contest on the BJP poll symbol in urban segments, two will fight on PLC symbol in the rural constituencies, he said in the party statement.
According to the seat sharing arrangement, the BJP is fighting on 65 seats, PLC on 37 and SAD (Sanyukt) on 15.