Probe Lovely, Yusuf: BJP MLAs

The BJP on Friday asked the Delhi Assembly to institute a high-level inquiry into the alleged links between two Congress ministers and murdered liquor baron Gurdeep Singh Chadha alias Ponty and his brother Hardeep Chadha.

The Assembly winter session, which ended on Friday, saw four BJP MLAs rushing to the well demanding that the allegations against ministers Arvinder Singh Lovely and Haroon Yusuf be probed.

Amid the uproar, as Congress legislators defended the ministers, Speaker Yoganand Shastri asked the marshals to remove the legislators — Praduymn Rajput, Subhash Sachdeva, Sunil Vaidya and Sat Prakash Rana.

This left no one from the main Opposition party in the House because Shastri on Thursday suspended the rest of the BJP MLAs for two days, barring the four, for demanding resignation of the ministers.

The BJP demanded a probe after call detail records of Hardeep Chadha revealed that he was in touch with Urban Development Minister Lovely and Power Minister Yusuf.

"We want to know why no action was taken against the ministers? We want the ministers to resign and a fair investigation ordered," Rajput said.

Delhi unit BJP president Vijendra Gupta said the party would raise the issue in Parliament on Monday. "We will demand dismissal of the ministers. The BJP will continue its movement till criminal cases are filed against the ministers and arrested for interrogation," Gupta said.

Lovely refuted the allegations, saying it was important to note the duration of the calls between him and Hardeep. "I receive hundred of calls every day. Just because there are records of calls to and from my phone, it does not mean I had a conversation with each and everyone who called," he said.

PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said: "To allege criminal intent based on the number of phone calls is unfair. There is nothing wrong in people talking to each other."

Parliamentary Secretary Mukesh Sharma and Congress MLA Naseeb Singh supported the ministers.

"Ponty Chadha and his brother were involved in charitable activities in Delhi's gurdwaras. What is the problem if ministers talk to people, we are all elected representatives of people," Sharma said.

He said the BJP should try to put its house in order because Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, who is currently in judicial custody for the twin murder of Ponty Chadha and Hardeep, "was part of the sangh parivar in Uttarakhand".

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