Punjab Congress on Wednesday demanded separate high-level probe by the Enforcement Directorate or the CBI into the properties of the families of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.
“This is necessary in the context of hitherto unknown properties owned by Majithia that have surfaced during investigation in the drug racket case by the ED. What has so far come to be known might be the tip of the iceberg,” said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa. He argued that the properties of the two families should be jointly probed as these families were closely related and their joint dealings could not be ruled out.
Bajwa recalled that disproportionate assets case against Badals had fell in the court mainly because of the fact that witnesses, including investigating officer, had backtracked after Badal became the CM. “Had the probe been handed over to the CBI at that time, the situation might have been different,” he said.
Bajwa alleged that fortunes of both these families had undergone total change after coming into power beginning 1997. “Majithia family was virtually broke at one stage as even its factories had shut down. Political power has turned out to be best business for both these closely related families. It is Majithia family that is involved in every pie in the State,” said Bajwa.
PPCC chief pointed out that the assets of Badal family had multiplied every time the Akali Dal came into power and Majithia family was now closely following the example.