Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday came out in open to defend his kin and the State Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore drug case. Badal, winding up the discussions on the motion of thanks of Governor’s address moved by SAD MlA Bibi Jagir Kaur in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, asserted that anyone summoned by Enforcement Directorate should not be considered as an accused.
“ED, under section 50, is authorised to summon any person to produce documents in any case…but that does not mean that he or she is accused…ED did not mention him in challan,” said Badal arguing that a person who has been summoned be a court can be called as an accused.
He said that the matter “is under the purview of the competent courts”, and should refrain from making comments and pointing fingers at each other on this. “let stop this,” he appealed. Badal said that the Government has taken several initiatives to check the drug problem in the State. “No drugs in manufactured or cultivated in Punjab. We confiscate drugs here,” he said.
Taking up every issue raised by the MlAs during discussion on the Governor’s address, Badal called for setting up of a genuinely federal structure in the country to ensure that Centre and States work in tandem for development of the country and progress and prosperity of its people.
Calling for transfer Punjab of Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab, Badal made a vehement plea for “vacating injustice meted out to Punjab in economic, political, territorial and religious spheres”.
In his almost two-hour long address, Badal demanded that injustice done to the State on river water issue be ended as per “the nationally and internationally accepted Riparian Principle”. At the same time, he declared that Punjab has no drop of water to spare from its river waters. He pointed that a national consensus on the transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab and on resolution of river waters issue in accordance with the Riparian Principle already exists.
“Former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi and the entire Union Government announced an immediate acceptance of Punjab’s all legitimate demands within an agreed and declared deadline.
Even both houses of the Parliament unanimously endorsed the decision and yet, this decision is never implemented as the Prime Minister and the Centre went back on what they had described as ‘sacred commitments of the nation to Punjab’,” said Badal. Parent State has the right over the capital, he said.
Badal said that Punjab had suffered incalculable losses because militancy, industrial concessions to neighbouring hill states, and also because of abolition of freight equaliser. “Not only have fresh investments in the state dried up but there has been an alarming flight even of the existing capital from the State. This has severely hit the employment sector for our youth,” he said.
Saying that 1984 riots can never be forgotten, Badal said that guilty have not been punished till date, rather given plum posts. He welcomed the NDA Government’s announcements to set up Special Investigation Team (SIT) and Rsfive lakh relief to the next of the kin of the victims.
Showering praises in the Centre Government, Badal lauded the inclusion of Amritsar as heritage city under the HRIDAY scheme, and including Jallianwala Bagh among Cultural World Heritage Sites which would receive special assistance for improving the infrastructure.
He also hailed the Centre for allocating prestigious projects like All India Institute of Medical Science, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and Post-Graduate Horticulture Research and Educational Institute besides declaring Guru Gobind Singh Marg to link Sri Anandpur Sahib with Sri Hazur Sahib Nanded via Talwandi Sabo under National Highways project among others. Badal appreciated Centre’s initiative to federalise Indian polity and empower the States.