Punjab CM’s wife rejects Rs 5 crore charge, warns legal action
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s wife, Gurpreet Kaur, rejected charges that she sought Rs 5 crore to suppress a rape case, challenging her accusers to either prove them or face legal action.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Teej function in Patiala on Sunday, Gurpreet Kaur termed them baseless and said she was not scared of such accusations and was prepared to face them.
“I think it is easy to level baseless allegations. I am fully prepared to face these baseless allegations. I was not scared earlier nor am I now. I challenge them (those who are levelling such charges) that either they prove what they are claiming or be prepared to face legal action,” she said in her first public response to the allegations.
The development follows a notice issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the Punjab government and its police chief over a complaint alleging that Mann’s wife demanded Rs 5 crore to suppress a rape case.
Subsequently, Gurpreet Kaur, according to AAP MLA Amandeep Kaur, on Saturday sent a legal notice to a former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge in connection with the allegations.
The notice sought an apology within 24 hours for the allegations, failing which it stated that legal proceedings would be initiated and the matter would be taken to court.
As the allegations surfaced, opposition parties - Congress, SAD and BJP - targeted the chief minister and demanded that Mann come clear on the issue.
Amandeep Kaur on Saturday had defended her party and the CM’s wife over what she claimed were “baseless allegations” being levelled against Gurpreet Kaur.
