Accusing Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal of double standards, the Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday asked if former jails minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur had been asked to resign by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) based on “evidence”.Phillaur had to quit after his son was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a drug-racket probe.
Now, revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia is set to be summoned in a related case, but chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has contended that Majithia won’t be removed “without evidence”. Reacting to that statement, Punjab AAP convenor Sucha Singh further alleged, “Phillaur was asked to put in his papers as he is a Dalit leader with no high connections. He did not have a godfather as his brother-in-law is not the state's deputy CM and home minister nor is his sister a Union minister.
What kind of evidence does Badal want? Will the Punjab Police indict the brother-in-law of the home minister?” Majithia is the brother of Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is the wife of CM Badal’s son and deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal. Sukhbir as the deputy CM holds the home affairs department under which the police function.
On certain drug-racket accused being present at Majithia’s wedding, Chhotepur also took a dig at Majithia’s defence that everyone was invited to his wedding, saying that the wedding was a private affair where only close people were invited. “From inviting to his wedding to offering them (accused NRIs) facilities and patronising them, Majithia did it all. If he is innocent as he claims, let him resign and face a probe. He had resigned once to make way for his brother-in-law in the ministry. What stops him from doing so now?”
{{/usCountry}}On certain drug-racket accused being present at Majithia’s wedding, Chhotepur also took a dig at Majithia’s defence that everyone was invited to his wedding, saying that the wedding was a private affair where only close people were invited. “From inviting to his wedding to offering them (accused NRIs) facilities and patronising them, Majithia did it all. If he is innocent as he claims, let him resign and face a probe. He had resigned once to make way for his brother-in-law in the ministry. What stops him from doing so now?”
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