A day after simultaneous raids were conducted by the Enforcement Directorate at multiple locations in Punjab, Chandigarh, and New Delhi related with Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, the state Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday passed a unanimous resolution condemning the central agency’s action as “unconstitutional and unwarranted”.
At the time when the raids were on, the issue was echoed in the House on Tuesday also, wherein the legislators, rising above political lines, sought passing of a resolution against the “tool of the Centre”, while dubbing the action as “political intimidation”.
On Wednesday, during the zero hour, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) ‘rebel’ MLA Kanwar Sandhu demanded resolution against the ED raids on Khaira. “The House can also express its displeasure over the ED action against Khaira…What has happened with Khaira, could also occur with any of us,” he said.
Supporting the demand, Congress MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu said that democracy has been murdered by the BJP Government. “Are we allowed to question the Central Government or not? Are we a free society? Are we a fear society?” “ he asked while condemning the ED raids.
Chipping in, the state Local Bodies and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra also demanded the intervention of the House while describing the action against Khaira as “unfortunate, highly deplorable, and highly condemnable”.
On this, the Speaker Rana KP Singh said that Khaira was “restrained” from attending the ongoing budget session which was “wrong”, and a resolution will be moved in the Assembly against ED raids.
Khaira, who was also present in the House, described the ED raids as “a well-planned vilification and character assassination campaign” against him by the Centre. At the same time, he denied doing anything wrong.”If the BJP Government thinks of intimidating me or gagging me with these raids, they are wrong. I will keep on raising voice against injustice,” he said. Khaira also informed the House that the ED officials had taken some diaries.
Notably, the ED had raided the premises of AAP’s ‘rebel’ MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, his family members in Delhi and some jailed convicts on Tuesday in a money-laundering case linked to the 2015 Fazilka narcotics trafficking case and a fake passport racket.Later, moving the resolution, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohindra said that obstructing an MLA to attend the session was unawarrated, and the resolution was being brought with the permission of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
“The House expressed its concern in one voice against the use of central agencies such as CBI, ED, NIA, etc to harass innocent people including the farmers, politically elected representatives, and even some government officials whereas these are meant to ensure transparency in public life,” said Mohindra.
He said: “During the ongoing session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, a Member of this House, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, has been compelled to remain absent from participating in the proceedings of the House and disabled him from discharging his constitutional obligations as an elected representative of his constituency due to the unwarranted and unconstitutional interference by the Enforcement Directorate, which has been noticed and condemned by the august House, unanimously.While condemning the “unfortunately unwarranted and unconstitutional use of the central agencies”, the House urged upon the Government of India to “refrain from infringing upon the rights of the elected representatives of the people” by subverting the due process of law and uphold the tenets of the democratic set up in the country.