Chandigarh: Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Leader of the Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, on the floor of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha accusing him of purchasing land on the banks of the Beas River, inside the Dhussi Bandh, with the ulterior motive of sand mining and then pressuring the state government to spend public funds on stone studs to protect that land.
The Finance Minister said that while LoP Bajwa demands the formation of a House Committee or the resignation of Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, his own actions reveal a disturbing pattern of self-interest. Finance Minister Cheema revealed specific details of a land transaction on July 15, 2025, where Bajwa purchased 16.10 marlas of land in Village Phullran, Hadbast No. 725, Tehsil and District Gurdaspur, at his wife Charanjit Bajwa’s name, from Rajdeep Kaur, wife of Nirmal Singh, for Rs 5.45 lakh with Intkal No. 2248 and Wasika No. 561.
Questioning the timing of the purchase, Finance Minister Cheema explicitly stated that this land lies inside the Dhussi Bandh area of the Beas River. He said that Partap Singh Bajwa purchased the land from a poor farmer just a month and a half earlier, knowing that sand would accumulate there during the monsoon, which he could then mine.
The Finance Minister also pointed to a similar purchase of 10 acres of land by Bajwa inside the Dhussi Bandh along the Beas River in Village Paswal. He said that the state government had spent Rs 1.18 crore on stone studs to protect this land during the Congress party’s tenure in 2017 and 2019.
The Finance Minister said that Partap Singh Bajwa is now attempting to exert pressure on Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal to secure his sanction for the expenditure of crores of rupees, this time for the construction of new stone studs to protect the recently acquired land in Phullran. He lamented that instead of helping the government address the damage caused to the public by the recent floods, the Leader of the Opposition is focused on exerting pressure for his personal gains.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that it is clear that Partap Singh Bajwa purchased the lands within the Dhussi area solely for mining purposes, and it is deplorable that he has leveraged crores of state funds to protect his private property.
