Just hours after Sucha Singh Chhotepur accused his party colleagues of “conspiring” against him and indicated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was “anti-Sikh”, the party has removed Chhotepur from the position of Punjab unit convener over allegations of “corruption” and accepting money from a man from “Australia” in exchange for party ticket.
Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann on Friday announced the party’s decision to sack Chhotepur and a two-member committee will investigate allegations of corruption against him. Mann claimed a man from Australia had informed the party that he was in negotiations with Chhotepur for a ticket (as a party candidate for Punjab election). Mann said the former Punjab unit chief had demanded Rs. 60 Lakh (AUD 120,000), finally settling for half the amount. The MP from Sangrur claimed a payment of Rs. 400,000 had been made as part of the deal.
Allegations of ‘cash-for-tickets’ surfaced after a purported sting operation against Chhotepur. During a press conference in Chandigarh on Friday, he refuted the allegations claiming it was a conspiracy against him by his “own party colleagues”. He said his reputation had been unnecessarily blemished by “baseless” media reports.
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