Barely six months ahead of the Punjab elections, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal upped the ante against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at a rally in Nihal Singh Wala in Moga district, where he deployed wordplay to allege that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s wife, Gurpreet Kaur, took money to settle cases.
Displaying images of a QR code on a poster, Badal said the AAP govt was using a “unique kind of GPay” — referencing Google’s payment app — that he termed “Gurpreet-Pay” in this case.
The allegations by the former deputy chief minister come at a time when Gurpreet Kaur faces allegations that one of her relatives demanded Rs 5 crore to help a rape accused get a clean chit. He said that upon scanning the QR code on these posters, you would be directed to a 32-minute audio conversation about a deal between Gurpreet Kaur’s relative and another person to get the accused a clean chit for the alleged rape of two victims.
Badal called it “AAP da G-Pay” and claimed posters about it could be spotted in SAS Nagar (Mohali), Ludhiana, Patiala, Ferozepur, Kotkapura, Moga and Pathankot in particular, in multiple neighbourhoods, colleges, universities and market hotspots. The Akali Dal says that the audio exposes a discussion on how the accused should be shifted from a jail in Amritsar to one in Patiala, where he would be provided opium by the authorities without any hindrance.
“If any of the major drug smugglers are caught, they can go directly to the chief minister’s house! “If someone is a rapist, smuggler, or thief, they can contact Gurpreet Kaur and pay her. That is how every crime is pardoned. These are the people running the government!” he added.
The CM’s wife has opened a shop,” Badal said.
