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Punjab Congress leader's arrest brings spotlight to his last social media post
Punjab Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira made several posts on Raghav Chadha and Parineeti Chopra's wedding in the past few days.
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who was arrested by the Punjab Police on Thursday in connection with a 2015 drugs case, had been raising questions in connection with AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha's wedding with Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra. Khaira's last tweet was on Parineeti Chopra's wedding ring gifted by Raghav Chadha in which the Congress leader claimed that Parineeti gave the AAP leader a less costly ring even as she is a celebrity and asked how Chadha could afford a 4-carat diamond ring.
"Will @raghav_chadha have the decency to clarify how he managed to gift a 4 Carat very expensive diamond ring to his newly wedded wife @ParineetiChopra (more than 10 times his declared income) while his income according to 2020-21 ITR is merely 2.44 Lacs? While she being a celebrity gifted him with a ring of lesser value? What is the truth? Punjab BADLAV wants to know?@INCIndia @INCPunjab," Khaira said in a social media post on X.
Hours after, a team of Punjab Police reached Khaira's residence and conducted a raid in connection with an old case registered in 2015 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Jalalabad, Fazilka. The Congress MLA went live on Facebook as he argued with the police.
Khaira's son Mehtab Singh called the detention vendetta politics and said his father always exposed the true face of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his party. “My father always stood by the families' of those who died by drug overdose in Punjab...this what happens when somebody speaks against the govt, this is the 2nd arrest of my father in 5 years...this is the after-effect of speaking truth...2015 FIR has been used for this arrest. On that FIR, the court had summoned us and we challenged that order in Supreme Court and the order was quashed,” Khaira's son said.
Before the wedding ring, Khaira questioned the wedding cavalcade as Raghav Chadha and Parineeti Chopra got married in Udaipur on September 24. "Omg just watch the dazzling cavalcades of today’s brand of Aam Aadmi’s like @ArvindKejriwal @raghav_chadha @BhagwantMann & Co who once vowed not to take govt home car etc and vowed to end Vip culture but now not only have they broken their vows but are new Vvip’s of India! @INCIndia @INCPunjab," Khaira tweeted.
"While @BhagwantMann was busy performing Bhangra on the directions of his Delhi masters like @raghav_chadha Punjab was once again robbed of its legitimate rights over our Bhakta Dam ! Delhi once again has arbitrarily appointed its henchman Manoj Tripathi as Chairman BBMB ! I wish @BhagwantMann had objected to such anti-Punjab decisions maybe our farmers would not have to suffer the fury of floods that repeatedly devastates their future @INCPunjab," he wrote.
AAP MP Sushil Gupta said it is well known that Khaira indulged in the drug business. "The law will take its own course. It is well-known that Sukhpal Khaira ji indulged in the drug business. He kept getting protection from earlier governments. Now, a proper investigation will be conducted," the AAP MP said.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said an accused is to be summoned first and then comes the arrest if he does not cooperate in the investigation. "I remember a statement by Arvind Kejriwal where he said, 'give me Police and see what I will be doing', so that he what is being done. If someone is accused of something, he must be summoned first and make him join the investigation and if he doesn't answer then arrest him...Punjab Police is being misused...action is being taken against opposition leaders because they are speaking against the govt," the BJP leader said.
'Abuse of power and vengeance': INDIA partners AAP versus Congress
The Congress condemned the arrest and said it was proof of abuse of power and vengeance. "The entire Congress family stands with him against this petty conspiracy to suppress his loud voice against injustice. We are not ready to bow down, not ready to stop. We will fight and win," the Congress tweeted.
