A day after Punjab police registered a case against state BJP president Kamal Sharma's two associates related to drug smuggling matter, the Congress party on Thursday demanded judicial enquiry into BJP leaders' connection with drug smugglers.
The party has described the BJP leaders' connection with drug smugglers as a threat to the national security". The party has already been seeking Kamal Sharma's resignation on the issue.
Reacting strongly over Congress demanding Sharma's resignation, BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh stated that it was Kamal Sharma, who had expelled BJP Ferozepur unit president Jagtar Singh Katora and district youth wing head Jimmi Sandhu, even before fingers were pointed at them.
"By doing so, Kamal Sharma has set a high moral standard in politics and should be applauded," he said.
lashing out at BJP's double speak over the drug issue and their leaders' connection with drug smugglers, the leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Sunil Kumar Jakhar said: "The connection of Ferozepur BJP leaders with drug smugglers is a kind of threat to the national security."
Jakhar blamed the BJP for ignoring the seriousness of the issue that how their district president of BJP unit Jugraj Singh Katora and district president of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Jimmy Sandhu at Ferozepur, have connection with the drug smugglers.
Congress legislative Party leader said that the state unit of BJP, who is also ally political party of the State Government, have been trying to suppress the issue just by accepting their resignations and don't want any further investigation in the case.
Slamming the BJP, Jakhar demanded judicial enquiry in to the case by the sitting judge of the High Court.
Referring to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' programme in which he stated that the earnings from drug smuggling was being uses in terrorist activity, Jakhar said that this convey that their own leader's connection with drug smuggler is dangerous for the national security as Ferozepur is border district and attached with the Pakistan.
"This kind of connection of their own party leaders raised so many unanswered question before the party, because there leaders have been trying to improve their image," he said.
"On one side their national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna has been organizing campaign against drug problems for the youth and also taking some steps for their rehabilitation, their own party leaders, on the other side, are involved with drug smugglers and police have evidence against them," pointed Jakhar.
He said that this recent case of Ferozepur BJP leaders has again "exposed the innocence of the BJP, who have been trying to save their skin before the assembly election". He stressed that in case judicial enquiry is ordered, "number of other leaders of BJP can be exposed".
Chugh, on the other hand, condemned the Congress party's demand. "Kamal Sharma had taken the resignation of Katora and Sandhu immediately when their names had surfaced. Notwithstanding the fact that Congress should appreciate the high moral standards set up by Kamal Sharma, the party is setting wrong precedent by demanding Sharma's resignation," he said.
Recalling the tenure of Congress-led UPA Government, Chugh said that accusations of corruption and criminalisation in politics were levelled against leaders of the Congress from grass-root level to party's top brass but every time, Congress had tried to brush aside the matter under the carpet.
"Congress has a tradition of shielding its tainted party leaders. It is ridiculous that party with such a corrupt fabric is training its guns on Kamal Sharma, who not only enjoys a clean image but has already set high standards by taking resignations of Katora and Sandhu," said Chugh adding that Sharma's credentials are known to everyone in Punjab and he do not need any certificate from the Congress.