Chandigarh: Congress leader and former Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had an altercation with a journalist on Monday while being interviewed in a moving vehicle. The Opposition leader lost his cool and was visibly angry with the reporter, who repeatedly asked about receiving a notice from the ruling AAP regarding the cost of the "cozy stay" of the criminal Mukhtar Ansari in a state jail.
On Sunday, CM Bhagwant Mann had announced his intention to recover Rs 55 lakh from former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and the then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
watch video here:
Randhawa calls reporter 'bikau'
Randhawa called the reporter 'bikau' (someone who is sold out) and tried to stop the interview midway, accusing the reporter of taking sides and habitually asking such questions for which he later had to apologise to party leaders in the past.
Later in the video, Randhawa is seen asking his driver to stop the vehicle and remove the reporter from the car. The reporter responds by stating that it is his job to ask questions from party leaders and that he is simply doing his work.
Ansari's jail time
Ansari was lodged in Ropar jail from 2019 to 2021 in an extortion case registered in Mohali before the apex court directed the Punjab government to hand over the gangster-turned-politician to the Uttar Pradesh police. The Supreme Court had also noted that Ansari’s custody was being denied to UP on trivial grounds under the guise of medical issues.
Mann's warning for Singh and Randhawa
Stating that it was surprising that the previous government spent ₹55 lakh of taxpayers’ money to safeguard the interests of a criminal, Mann had on Sunday announced that Capt Amarinder Singh and Randhawa would have to pay this money from their own pockets. Otherwise, their pension and other benefits would be stopped to recover it, and everyone involved in the alleged crime would be held accountable.
It is worth noting that Mann had criticised the previous Congress government on this issue in the past too and refused to bear ₹55 lakh as fees for what he termed as "expensive lawyers" to defend Ansari.
Capt Amarinder Singh's response
However, in response to Mann’s charges, former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had criticised Mann and asked him to understand the system before making any statements.
