Congress to bring privilege motion against Majithia, SAD rules out resignation

Thursday, 12/03/2015

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CHANDIGARH: The drug scandal is set to dominate another Punjab assembly session that begins on Thursday. The opposition Congress on Wednesday announced to bring a privilege motion against state revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia on the alleged “confessional” statements of accused Manjinder Singh Bittu Aulakh and Jagjit Singh Chahal in the chargesheet that Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed in a Patiala court.

“As per reports, the chargesheet contains signed statement of Chahal that he paid ` 35 lakh as election fund to Majithia. The second accused, Bittu Aulakh, has revealed Majithia’s connections with three non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the network. On January 12 and 13, Aulakh was asked 22 questions, of which 14 related to Majithia. It is clear that the minister misled the House in the last session by claiming that he had been summoned as a witness and not accused. Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is duty bound to seek his resignation. If he does not resign, he should be dismissed. It is a test for the CM to prove his authority and show that it is his writ, and not that of his son and deputy CM, Sukhbir Badal, that runs in the party,” state leader of opposition Sunil Jakhar, said while addressing the media here. AGENDA HIJACKED AGAIN: JAKHAR The no-confidence motion moved by the Congress against the SAD-BJP government during the winter session was defeated. Mincing no words that the drugs issue had once again “hijacked” the agenda, Jakhar said they wanted to debate many issues in the House but drug racket had again emerged as the prime focus, as it affected the future of the state’s youth.

The party’s strategy this time is to target the minister and expose the “doublespeak” of the BJP that had demanded the resignation of Majithia after the ED, which is probing the money-laundering angle in the drug racket, had issued him summons. “The BJP will have to come clean. Where does it stand? Their own minister, Anil Joshi, is threatening to boycott the session. He should spill the beans, as he has enough ammunition. State BJP president Kamal Sharma also should clarify his party’s stand now. Last time, we were told that we should have allowed the BJP to speak on the no-confidence motion. We will let them do so this time. Their double standards have to be exposed before the people of Punjab,” the Congress leader said. Aiming to drive a wedge between not just the allies but also the ruling Badal clan, Jakhar once again claimed that somebody within the establishment was trying to fix Majithia. “The minister’s dealings are not clean and he keeps bad company. His political graph was rising rapidly. Somebody within the establishment knew how he could be fixed, and has done it. The statement of arrested drug lord Jagdish Bhola before the media was not possible without the connivance of the establishment,” he said.

But the SAD dismissed the Congress move as ranting of an “issueless” opposition. “They are not concerned about the problems of the people of Punjab. It is old dirt and old conspiracy to malign the minister before assembly sessions. Where is he named by the ED in the chargesheet? Jakhar himself gave Majithia a clean chit in the House. Either he is confused or he does not understand where to start and where to end,” SAD minister and spokesman Daljit Cheema said.