Chandigarh, March 25 Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Wednesday insisted on a probe by a sitting high court judge into the suicide of an official of the warehousing corporation.
He alleged that the CBI has "lost its credibility" under the BJP-led Central government.
Warring's stance is at variance with the four other Congress MPs — Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and Dharamvira Gandhi — who sought a CBI probe into the death of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, the district manager of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar.
Randhawa allegedly ended his life by consuming poison on March 21.
On the same day, a video appeared in which Randhawa purportedly accused harassment at the hands of Laljit Singh Bhullar, who resigned as minister later that day at the direction of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Two days later, Bhullar, the AAP MLA from Patti, was arrested.
Meanwhile, after rival parties lashed out at Warring for not supporting the demand for a CBI probe, he clarified that he had not opposed the CBI inquiry, but only insisted that any investigation must be done under the supervision of a sitting high court or a Supreme Court judge.
In a statement, Warring refuted the suggestions that he opposed the demand for a CBI inquiry.
He said he felt that even the CBI inquiry may not be "foolproof" as the agency has a poor record of taking the cases to a logical conclusion.
Warring also said he stands by his parliamentary party colleagues.
Earlier, Ludhiana MP Warring posted on X, "I reiterate my stand that the investigation into the tragic suicide by the Warehousing Corporation District Manager Dr Gagandeep Singh Randhawa should be conducted under the supervision of a sitting High Court Judge. The past experience with the CBI probes has not been very positive and encouraging. Under the @BJP4India regime the probe agency has lost its credibility."
He added, "There are numerous examples where the CBI probe has led nowhere. That is why I have been insisting that the case should be probed under the supervision of a High Court Judge."
All the same, Warring said he stands by what the family wants.
"If the family wants a CBI probe, that should also be conducted under the supervision of a high court judge," he said.
On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he would order a CBI probe into the alleged suicide if all Punjab MPs gave him a written request on the matter.
The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Congress MP from Amritsar, who alleged that Bhullar drove the official to suicide.
Earlier, four Congress MPs wrote to Shah, demanding a CBI probe.
Meanwhile, SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal accused Warring of colluding with Mann.
"Punjab Congress president @RajaBrar_INC has again come to the rescue of chief minister @BhagwantMann by asserting he is not in favour of a CBI probe into the death of Warehousing Officer Dr Gagandeep S Randhawa. If this does not prove the collusion between the two what will," the Bathinda MP wrote on X.
She alleged that even though his party demanded a CBI probe into the suicide, the Punjab Congress president was "keen to help ease the pressure on the Aam Aadmi Party."
"He must tell Punjabis why he has struck such a deal with the chief minister," said the MP.
Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu said Warring had become a "stooge" of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. Bittu has also sought a CBI probe into the death.
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said the Opposition plays an important role in a democracy, but in Punjab, the Congress appears to be functioning under the influence of the chief minister.
He said Congress MPs earlier sought a CBI probe in Parliament, but when Shah asked them to submit a written request, some of them backed out under pressure from Mann.
This shows how Congress has "surrendered" before the AAP government, he alleged.
Mann on Tuesday virtually rejected the demand for a CBI probe into Randhawa's suicide, saying the state police is capable of probing the case fairly and no one will be shielded.