Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) working president and former Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC), directing Punjab not to arrest or prosecute him. Don’t take any drastic step. FIR A case has been registered in the case of alleged irregularities of Rs 2000 crore in allotment of laborers and transport tenders for lifting of food grains. The matter is yet to come up for hearing before the High Court.
According to reports, the matter related to “irregularities” in tenders lifting food grains is being probed by the Vigilance Bureau of Punjab after representatives of small contractors of labor and transport filed a complaint in this regard to VB.
Ashu, through his counsel, senior advocates Vinod Ghai, Kanika Ahuja and Tarun Seth, has demanded that if an FIR is registered against him, he will not be arrested until he has been arrested at least from the date of registration. Seven days’ advance notice is not given. FIR.
Ashu has submitted in the petition that he took over as a cabinet minister in 2018, procuring food grains (mainly wheat and paddy) on behalf of the Government of India from various procurement agencies through its food procurement agencies and the Food Corporation of India. A new policy for Centers or mandis located in Punjab were created and approved by the then Punjab cabinet.
“In pursuance of this new policy, the e-tenders were floated by the District Tender Committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of each district, whereas in the policy framed by the previous government, the Deputy Director-cum-Chairman of Food Supplies was the last. Right to allot tender. It is further submitted that the previous e-tender (2022-23) was issued and work was allotted on merit basis to various contractors,” he said.
“The policy for the years 2018-19, 2019-2020, 2021-22 and 2022-23 was prepared by the previous government in Punjab and approved by the cabinet ministers and the entire process of e-tendering was online and transparent… No person or any particular firm has any role in the allotment of tender as all the process was online and the person or firm applying for e-tender has to fulfill the criteria and conditions prescribed therein. in the petition.
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The petition further alleges that after the formation of the new state government in March 2022, AAP started registering false cases against its rivals in order to gain vengeful political vendetta and cheap popularity, and that the petitioner had been accused of being a public servant. Nothing wrong was done as such. A policy thus formulated is an act of good management.
Ashu said that he was surprised to learn that the contractors who were ineligible to participate in the e-tendering process at the time of the previous government, have addressed a press conference, accusing the previous government of misusing power and ill-intentioned policy. accused of making To remove some old contractors who had monopoly in the earlier tenders.
Ashu has argued that the ineligible contractors kept silent for three years after formulation of the said policy and did not challenge the said policy, which is the best remedy available to them, if they have any complaint regarding the said policy. Ashu said he feared that he would be arrested at any point of time on petty grounds as a complaint has been made to the CM, who has marked it to the Vigilance Department.