The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday said that it would not succumb to pressure from any quarter for the resignation of Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia as the latter was not guilty of any wrong doing and had merely been summoned for questioning by a central agency.
In a statement issued here, senior party leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Daljit Singh Cheema said mere summoning for questioning by an agency like the Enforcement Directorate did not prove one was guilty in any way. The leaders said the SAD had the highest regard for rule of law and its track record of probity in public life was among the best of all political parties in the country. “The party would be the first to act in case of any wrong doing by any member. In the case of Bikram Majithia the party is convinced that he has not committed any wrong as five central investigating agencies have probed the allegations during Congress led UPA rule and found nothing wrong against him”, they added.
Grewal and Cheema also expressed surprise at the call for Majithia’s resignation. “Earlier in the past many senior leaders of both national parties, including chief ministers, have been summoned by various agencies and the courts but they never resigned from their posts”. They said recently a Union minister had also been summoned by the court after grave allegations had been levelled against him but he was yet to put in his papers. Speaking on the issue of drugs, Maheshinder Grewal said no drugs were produced in Punjab. “Drugs come into the State from Pakistan through the international border. This border is policed by the Border Security Force, which is a central agency. The centre must ensure the BSF is able to seal the border effectively”.