Pb CM asks Channi to come clean on corruption charges against nephew; 'arrest me', dares Cong leader

They Channi call themselves poor, but for them two means Rs 2 crore, not Rs 2 lakh, the AAP leader had said.On Thursday, Channi reiterated that he had never asked anyone to meet his nephew and alleged that the ruling AAP was hellbent on putting him behind bars by hook or by crook.Every day, you Mann level allegations against me, indulge in a malicious campaign...

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday gave his predecessor Charanjit Singh Channi time till May 31 to come clean on allegations that his nephew demanded Rs 2 crore from a cricketer in return for a government job.

Mann, in a tweet in Punjabi, said, if Channi fails to ''disclose all information'', he would ''make public'' pictures and names to support his allegations.

The Congress leader trashed the claims and dared Mann to arrest him if he had any proof against him.

''I am giving you time till 2 pm on May 31 to make public all the information about your nephew asking for a bribe from a sportsperson in return for a job, otherwise, I will make public pictures and names along with the place of meeting before Punjabis,'' Mann tweeted.

On Monday, Mann, while addressing a gathering in Sangrur, said he met a Punjab cricketer in Dharamshala when he was in Himachal Pradesh to watch an Indian Premier League match recently who told him that he had applied for a government job under the sports quota and was asked by Channi's nephew to pay a bribe.

The former chief minister asked the cricketer to meet his nephew who assured him of the government job but demanded ''two'' from him, the Punjab chief minister claimed.

''The player took Rs 2 lakh to Channi's nephew, who abused him and said 'two' means Rs 2 crore. They (Channi) call themselves poor, but for them 'two' means Rs 2 crore, not Rs 2 lakh,'' the AAP leader had said.

On Thursday, Channi reiterated that he had never asked anyone to meet his nephew and alleged that the ruling AAP was hellbent on putting him behind bars by hook or by crook.

''Every day, you (Mann) level allegations against me, indulge in a malicious campaign... If you want to arrest me, I am here,'' Channi told reporters in Morinda.

Channi said the CM does not have to wait till May 31 and if he has any evidence, he should give it to the investigation agencies and get a case registered. He said thousands of people came to meet him when he was the chief minister and prior to that the technical education minister in the previous Congress government and there may be photos of him with a lot of people.

But that doesn't mean that he asked anyone to meet his nephew to secure a government job as is being alleged, Channi said.

He also wondered if it behooves a chief minister to serve an ultimatum to his predecessor on Twitter.

Channi is facing a Vigilance Bureau probe in connection with a disproportionate assets matter and had last month alleged that Mann's regime was indulging in vendetta politics.

Accusing Mann of targeting Punjab Congressmen to ''divert public attention'' from real issues, Channi said, ''They are after Congress people in Punjab, but when action is taken against their leaders in Delhi, then they cry vendetta.'' ''You may register cases against me, put me behind bars for six months, one year, five years, but false allegations won't stand,'' he said.

Channi also said that the AAP has not been able to digest the fact that the Panjab University awarded him a PhD degree in political science last week.

The Congress leader said Mann has been touring different parts of the country with Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal ''at the Punjab state exchequer's expense''.

''He (Mann) should also tell Punjabis what is being achieved by touring the country at Punjab state exchequer's expenses,'' he said.

Channi claimed the AAP government is yet to deliver justice in sacrilege cases.

''It has been 14 months but things are not moving,'' he said.