Criminal case to be registered against Channi if SAD voted to power: Badal

If the SAD comes to power after the polls, a criminal case will be registered against Charanjit Singh Channi for "fraudulent misuse of public funds", the party's chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said

If the SAD comes to power after the polls, a criminal case will be registered against Charanjit Singh Channi for "fraudulent misuse of public funds" as chief minister by placing "false advertisements", the party's chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Monday.

Interacting with reporters after canvassing for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BSP alliance candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections Hardev Singh Megh, he said it is a crime to misuse public funds.

The chief minister has "committed a crime" by placing advertisements stating that 36,000 contractual employees had been regularised, the SAD chief said.

"Channi has also cheated contractual employees by claiming that the state's governor is sitting over the file recommending their regularization when the fact is that the relevant file is in the chief minister's office," he claimed.

Badal said it was shocking that the chief minister was trying to "befool employees with such cheap tricks".

Now the governor had "exposed" the chief minister by detailing that the file was in the chief minister's office and was awaiting clarifications since December 31, the SAD chief said, adding, "Channi does not have any moral right to continue in office. He should resign immediately."

He promised that once the SAD-BSP alliance forms the government after the Assembly polls, it would regularize all 36,000 contractual employees at the earliest.

In its last term, the SAD-led government had passed a Bill in this context, Badal said.

"However the Congress mischievously filed a petition to stall this move. After the Congress government was formed it told the High Court that it would take back the Bill. However, this was not done and another Bill regularizing the services of employees was passed.

"This is why the governor has asked for a clarification as to why another Bill has been passed on the same subject when a case regarding the earlier Bill is still pending in court," he said.

On Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu's promise of giving Rs 2,000 per month to women, Badal said, "Previously, he used to call benefits given to the poor as lollipops."

"Now he is competing with this chief minister to make even bigger promises knowing fully well that none of the promises will be implemented," the SAD chief said.