Punjab liquor scam bigger than Delhi’s, alleges Sukhbir

Sukhbir was speaking to mediapersons at the residence of Jagdish Singh Garcha at Pakhowal road in Ludhiana

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that the Punjab liquor policy, which has been tailored to the one which was in Delhi, is a bigger scam and needs to be probed.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal meets Jagdish Garcha, former SAD leader, at his residence in Ludhiana on Thursday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Sukhbir, who was speaking to mediapersons at the residence of Jagdish Singh Garcha at Pakhowal road in Ludhiana, said that CM Bhagwant Mann fears that he will also be arrested like Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. “That is why, he is toeing the centre’s line on all the issues,” Sukhbir said.

Garcha, along with his family members, re-joined SAD on Thursday.

Badal also asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress were aligned at the Centre and Mann even shared the stage with the Congress leadership in Delhi recently. “Both parties are trying to mislead the people in Punjab. National parties want to annex Punjab instead of trying to win the hearts.”

Speaking on gangsters and drug menace, Sukhbir said: “I want to assure you that once the SAD is returned to power, no gangster or their patrons will remain in the state”.

Earlier, welcoming the Garcha family and their supporters into the party fold, the SAD president said Jagdish Singh Garcha was a close associate of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and had stood alongside him through thick and thin.