The BJP has joined calls for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to resign. This comes after allegations surfaced that his wife, Gurpreet Kaur, demanded five crore rupees to suppress a rape case. The National Human Rights Commission has requested a detailed report within two weeks from the Punjab government and the state’s Director General of Police regarding a complaint about this demand.
Opposition leaders are using the allegations to highlight broader issues of misgovernance by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, arguing that the involvement of the chief minister’s family in handling a sexual assault case is a serious matter. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party has rejected the claims as baseless and politically motivated, calling them a deliberate attempt to malign the chief minister’s family.
The Punjab government has not yet issued a detailed public response beyond the initial denial from the party, and opposition parties are demanding a time-bound, impartial probe. The controversy adds to previous questions the Mann government has faced regarding an alleged network for administrative and police transfers.