The vigilance bureau chargesheet against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia and 12 others in a disproportionate assets case triggered a political slugfest in Punjab. While Majithia termed the chargesheet a “bundle of lies,” the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders linked it to the drug issue, a hot button in poll-bound Punjab.
Taking to X, Majithia wrote: “No chargesheet was filed in the past five years, neither the original nor a supplementary one. It took a year and a half to concoct this story, which is nothing but a bundle of lies. Truth will prevail. I will neither stop nor bow down from raising people’s issues.”
Welcoming the filing of the chargesheet, Punjab minister and Aam Aadmi Party state chief Aman Arora said “those who had allegedly misused their positions of power are facing legal consequences.” “Today, I believe chief minister Bhagwant Mann deserves congratulations for showing the courage and determination to take action against those involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities, including the powerful individuals allegedly behind these criminal networks,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Later, speaking to the media, Majithia accused the AAP of misleading Punjabis by giving the disproportionate assets case the label of a drug case. “The legal proceedings raised serious questions about the AAP government’s claims. The Supreme Court gave the government time until March 18, 2025, to establish the allegations against me, but the Mann government failed to do so,” Majitha said, claiming the government failed to establish any link between him and the alleged drug money of ₹736 crore.
{{/usCountry}}Later, speaking to the media, Majithia accused the AAP of misleading Punjabis by giving the disproportionate assets case the label of a drug case. “The legal proceedings raised serious questions about the AAP government’s claims. The Supreme Court gave the government time until March 18, 2025, to establish the allegations against me, but the Mann government failed to do so,” Majitha said, claiming the government failed to establish any link between him and the alleged drug money of ₹736 crore.
{{/usCountry}}He also claimed that no concrete evidence had been produced to establish his any connection with drug trafficking. The SAD leader said the government constituted four SITs to establish the allegations against him, but they failed to prove anything.
Rejecting the allegation of “political vendetta”, the AAP said that those calling this action a political vendetta should read the chargesheet and examine the evidence for themselves. The chargesheet and the statements of nearly 300 witnesses contain the details of the investigation, a party release said. Later, minister Harpal Singh Cheema also alleged that the investigation had brought to light serious financial irregularities and a complex corporate network under scrutiny, raising questions about the movement of funds during the 2007-2017 SAD -BJP government.
Cheema said the people of Punjab have every right to question how such a vast financial empire was built and how the transactions now under investigation took place during those years. AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu said the vigilance bureau completed its responsibility by placing the chargesheet before the court and the case would now proceed through the judicial process.