Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, November 26: people’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal today said Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia must go failing which he should be sacked for a fair probe into the drug racket in which his name has surfaced during the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate.
“Justice must not only be done but seem to be done. With Majithia’s sister Harsimrat Kaur Badal being a member of the Union cabinet and his brother-in-law Sukhbir Singh Badal the Deputy Chief Minister, how can the people expect free and fair probe as the investigating agency officials would be under a lot of pressure. The situation demands that he should follow the example of then Cultural Affairs Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur who had to resign despite the fact that it was not his name that had been linked to the same scandal but that of his son. There should not be two sets of norms in the same government”, he added.
Manpreet pointed out that with the Enforcement Directorate having prepared an elaborate questionnaire for him to take the investigation to the logical conclusion, it was clear that there was some substance in the allegations. However, in case nothing came out of further investigation against him, he would get a clean chit and that would be to his advantage.
He called upon Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to clarify the situation in the context of earlier resignation by Phillaur and the same norms not being adopted in this case simply because Majithia happened to be the most powerful minister in his cabinet.
He said even the Bharatiya Janata Party, the alliance partner of the Akali Dal, which had resolved to eradicate the drug menace in this state, was adopting a different line in this case. The party had been demanding the resignation of Chief Parliamentary Secretary Avinash Chander for the same reason but had reserved its comments in this case. He asserted it was the welfare of the people which should be above political interests and moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has been concerned about the gravity of situation in this state.
He said drug smuggling was a crime against humanity and the future of the youth was being ruined in Punjab and as such, no leniency should be shown in handling this case, without caring for the political clout of the persons whose names have cropped up during investigation.
