Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday appeared before the Vigilance Bureau in connection with a disproportionate assets matter and was questioned for several hours by the officials even as he described the probe as "totally political".

Ahead of entering the bureau's Mohali office around 11 am, the Congress leader slammed the state's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over his date of appearance being advanced and claimed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's regime was indulging in "vendetta politics".

The bureau had initially asked Channi to appear for questioning on April 12. He, however, requested for another date to join the investigation, which the bureau allowed, asking him to appear on April 20. Later, the Vigilance Bureau advanced it to Friday.

The bureau has been inquiring into allegations of Channi amassing assets disproportionate to his known source of income. Last month, the bureau had issued a lookout circular against the former chief minister.

Asked about being questioned in the matter before he entered the bureau's office, Channi rubbished that he had accumulated any disproportionate assets and said, "The probe is totally political. Let them do what they want." Addressing a press conference before he reached the bureau's office, Channi launched a scathing attack on the state's AAP government and said he "may be tortured, arrested or even killed", but he is prepared to face it.

"Hang me if even one person says Channi was indulging in any corrupt practice," the former CM said breaking down in tears.

Channi said ahead of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, he has raised some issues. He alleged that the AAP government has been rattled by the questions he raised including those relating to Dalits, "on what the chief minister said about Akal Takht Jathedar", about justice in sacrilege cases and farmers' issues. "And when someone speaks the truth, the one who is a liar feels the pinch -- that is what has happened with the AAP government," he alleged.

The former chief minister was flanked by senior party leaders, including the Congress' Punjab unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Harish Chaudhary and Partap Singh Bajwa. Channi thanked the Congress leadership for standing behind him. He said he will go to the VB office alone and added he does not fear arrest. About the probe against Channi, Warring dubbed it as "a conspiracy to suppress Channi's voice".

Meanwhile, Channi also slammed the AAP government over his date of appearance being advanced and alleged it was part of the dispensation's "vendetta politics".

"They summoned me on a public holiday when offices are shut. For torturing Channi, the offices have been especially opened and the day they have chosen is (the day) of Baisakhi and Dr BR Ambedkar's birth anniversary," he said, asking if this is democracy, mobocracy or oligarchy and claimed the government wants to keep him away from campaigning for the Congress candidate in next month's Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypolls.

Channi said, "They may arrest me, beat me up, torture me and send me to jail, do whatever you want. They can send me behind bars today, too. They can even kill me but I am prepared." Channi said he raised the sacrilege issue and demanded justice.

"Amarinder Singh was our chief minister, we had nothing personal against him but we changed our government on these issues. We proceeded on the sacrilege issue later," he said.

"I raised some issues of the Dalit community, I talked about the farmers and other matters," he said and claimed that the government did not like the questions he raised.

Channi challenged Chief Minister Mann to prove his allegations that he owned property worth Rs 170 crore and had 250 acres of land. "Barring my home and an office and one shop, let them show which property I own, I will give it to the government," said Channi. He asked whether he was being targeted as people cannot digest how a Dalit, who came from humble background, became chief minister, even though he might have remained in the post only for three months.

"They say my son goes around in Rs 3.5-crore car, I want to ask them where is that car," said Channi.

"They formed government by portraying me as corrupt...I am being framed in false cases, if they have to give me behind bars, let them. Channi may be from poor family, but he is not weak," he said.

Channi returned to India towards the end of last year after spending several months in the US and Canada.

Channi, who was the Congress' chief ministerial candidate in the 2022 assembly elections, went abroad shortly after his party's defeat in the polls.

He had contested from the Chamkaur Sahib and the Bhadaur assembly constituencies but lost from both.

Channi succeeded Amarinder Singh in September 2021 following the latter's unceremonious exit as chief minister.

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