Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, November 24: People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal today demanded immediate dismissal of Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia to pave the way for a fair inquiry against him following his name having resurfaced during interrogation of the arrested persons by the Enforcement Directorate.
In a statement, Manpreet said his name had first been taken by Jagdish Bhola, the former police officer turned drug lord, after his arrest. The chain of arrests following that and the interrogation of the accused once again had led to Majithia. He said as per the law, the confessions made by the accused were admissible as per the law as evidence in the court in this case.
He said the Enforcement Directorate was dragging feet in summoning Majitha due to political reasons as the Akali Dal was in alliance with the BJP. However, this should not come in the way of such a serious case. Moreover, if there was no case against the Revenue Minister, he would get a clean chit and it would be in his interest to get his name investigated. Earlier during the UPA regime when his name first surfaced, the state government had rejected the demand for a CBI inquiry saying the functioning of that investigating agency was being influenced by the ruling Congress. Now the situation was different and the Akali Dal was part of the BJP government at the centre and thus, the investigation could not be influenced.
The PPP chief pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP were rightly concerned about the gravity of situation in Punjab arising out of spread of drug menace which was affecting the future of the state as the youth were getting ruined. He said the interests of the state and the country were above political considerations and as such, the investigation in this case should be taken to logical conclusion.
He said it was too well known a dictum that a person is innocent till proved guilty by the court. The dismissal would only pave the way for proper inquiry as the ED was already feeling the pressure as despite Majithia’s name having been confessed by the two accused whose links with have been established during investigation, he was not being summoned for interrogation.
He also referred to the hint at the use of drug money in elections and said this was yet another very serious dimension of this case which needed to be thoroughly investigated.
