Chandigarh, Sept. 7 -- The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government on Saturday hit back at Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's claim that illegal sand mining triggered the floods in the state, with two cabinet ministers dismissing the charge as baseless and misleading.

The floods were caused by record rainfall and unprecedented inflow of water in rivers, not illegal mining, said Punjab water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, strongly refuting Chouhan's allegation.

Instead of political blame games, the present focus must remain on relief and rehabilitation of affected families, said Goyal.

Chouhan's statement had come after his Thursday visit to flood-ravaged areas in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Kapurthala.

Through a po...