Cong seeks CBI probe into sand, liquor contracts under Akali

Senior Congress leaders and legislators today urged Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to order a CBI probe into the sand and liquor mining contracts allotted during the previous Akali-BJP regime.
In a letter to the chief minister, the leaders said the "massive revenue" generated by the sand and liquor auction recently by the present Congress-led state government should be enough reason to probe as to "why the contracts were allotted for such a low amount during the 10 years of Akali-BJP regime."
The signatories to the letter include Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, MLAs Rakesh Pandey, Surinder Dawer, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Kuldeep Singh, Sanjay Tawlar, PCC general secretary Pawan Dewan and DCC urban and rural presidents Gurpreet Singh Gogi and Gurdev Singh Lapran, said a party release here.

The highest amount generated during the Akali-BJP regime for the contracts was Rs 40 crores, while the Congress government generated revenue to the tune of Rs 1,026 crore for relatively lesser number of mines, the letter said.
Similarly, the liquor auction during the Congress regime also fetched huge amount as compared to the revenue generated for the same in the previous (Akali-BJP) regime, the Congress leaders claimed.
They said it was common knowledge that the Akali-BJP leaders "looted and robbed" the state in all ways, whether it was sand mining or liquor trade.
"Each and every auction by the Akali-BJP regime needs to be probed and the losses to the state exchequer be established and responsibility fixed," the letter said.

"If they (the Akali-BJP) think by levelling false and baseless allegations against the Congress regime, they will divert the attention and get away with all their sins of omission and commission, they are miserably mistaken. They must be held accountable for it," it said.