Answer The Chats, Majithia Renews Onslaught on CM's OSD Rajbir Ghuman Over Alleged Deals
Majithia Rajbir Ghuman Nitin Gohal Row: SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia accuses CM Mann aides Rajbir Ghuman and Nitin Gohal of graft over alleged WhatsApp chats; Ghuman dares him to prove it, Mann calls it political.
North Desk Correspondent
Chandigarh, August 20
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia has launched a fresh, sustained attack on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s officer on special duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman, alleging that WhatsApp chats involving Ghuman, Nitin Gohal and others point to a wide-ranging pattern of interference in government functioning — from transfers and postings to tenders, arms licences and land deals.
In a series of posts on X, Majithia named Ghuman and Gohal together as what he called Mann’s “right and left hands,” alleging that no action had been taken against either despite the allegations against them. “Everyone will eventually be caught,” he said, without specifying what action he was referring to or by whom.
Majithia Rajbir Ghuman Nitin Gohal Row: ‘Why are you afraid?’
Majithia Rajbir Ghuman Nitin Gohal Row: Widening the charge, Majithia alleged the chats “do not merely contain casual conversations” but instead raise questions about interference in government transfers and postings, manipulation of policies and tenders, arms licence approvals, land matters, leakage of confidential government information, and alleged payments or benefits. He further claimed one chat named Ghuman in connection with the appointment of a person close to Gohal to the Chief Minister’s Office.
“If all of this is false, why are you afraid to get the authenticity of these chats investigated?” Majithia asked, addressing Mann directly. “The people of Punjab want to know: who was involved in this alleged game of demand and supply reflected in these chats, and whose political patronage shielded it? Calling [it] false cannot bury the truth. Answer the chats.”
Majithia also accused the Chief Minister of “double standards,” alleging harsher treatment for opposition figures than for his own aides: “What if it had been a leader from the opposition? By now, an FIR would have been registered and he would have been behind bars.” He referred to Mann throughout by the “Guru Dokhi” epithet he has used in an earlier, separate line of attacks on the Chief Minister over sacrilege-related controversies.
‘Prove it or apologise’
Majithia Rajbir Ghuman Nitin Gohal Row: Ghuman rejected the allegations outright and challenged Majithia to back them up. “Thieves see everyone as thieves. It is easy to level allegations, but difficult to provide evidence,” he said in a social media post, asking Majithia to either produce evidence or publicly apologise, and warning that he would otherwise face a defamation case.
Don’t need honesty certificate: CM
Mann, responding to questions on the controversy, dismissed the allegations as politically driven and aimed at the BJP rather than directly at Majithia or the SAD. “The ‘ED party’ has this work only. There is no truth in it. The opposition is unable to get any issue. They are just into pointing fingers,” he said, adding that he did not need “a certificate of honesty from anyone.”
Congress lashes out as well
Majithia is not alone who’s hitting out at the ruling party over the issue. Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa questioned on X: “The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly shared explosive evidence with the Punjab DGP detailing an alleged corruption syndicate involving the CM’s office and OSD Rajbir Ghumman – including leaked confidential documents, cash recoveries, and rigged transfer-posting networks. So, why is the central probe agency passing the buck to the state police instead of registering a direct case under the PMLA?…”
Sukhpal Khaira was unsparing too. He wrote: “There are allegations of corruption in postings & transfers and money exchanged for violating policy decisions in the CMO and clearly the name of Rajbir Ghuman OSD to Cm Bhagwant Mann figures in the ED investigation ! Is the CMO above the law of the land ?-Khaira…”
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