New Delhi, Aug. 9 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday launched a sharp attack against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), accusing it of allowing illegal mining to flourish in Punjab and diverting Rs.19,200 crore from the illicit activity to a "mining mafia" allegedly controlled by chief minister Bhagwant Mann. During a press conference at BJP headquarters in Delhi, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh also raised allegations of paper leaks, extortion, censorship, drug-related deaths, rising crime and suppression of protests. Citing AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal's pre-poll promise, Chugh said, "He [Kejriwal] brought a new mining scheme. It was a promise-backed scheme that Rs.20,000 crore would come into the Punjab treasury every year, meaning Rs.1 lakh crore in five years.Today, out of Rs.20,000 crore, only Rs.800-Rs.900 crore has come into the treasury. Where did the remaining Rs.19,200 crore go?" The BJP leader further alleged that Rs.3,500 per truck was collected as an additional tax directed to the "mafia" under Mann's control. "By becoming protectors who have turned predators, they are eating away at Punjab's economy, Punjab's peace and Punjab's assets. Papers are being leaked, students are frightened, law and order has collapsed, there is extortion, collection of money and torture centres. The entire Punjab is in an atmosphere of fear," Chugh alleged. The allegations come amid continued scrutiny of illegal mining in Punjab, with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently criticising the Punjab government for allegedly failing to conduct an effective probe into illegal mining in Ropar district. On July 22, police lathi-charged protesting sanitation workers in Barnala which triggered statewide protests and a Punjab bandh on July 30. Chugh alleged that illegal extraction was taking place openly in the Ravi River, Pathankot's Chak Darya and the Anandpur Sahib-Hoshiarpur-Ropar region despite restrictions placed by the NGT and Punjab and Haryana high court. Chugh challenged the CM to undergo a drug test, calling for all political leaders and police officers to similarly undergo a drug test. The AAP had not immediately responded to the allegations. The claims made by the BJP could not independently be established from the information available....