Accusing the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of indulging in “political vendetta”, Punjab Congress on Sunday alleged that the top leadership of the ruling party was “conspiring” to implicate its leaders in false cases to gag the Opposition voice.
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa slammed Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy son Sukhbir Badal alleging that they were “intimidating, threatening and gaging voice of Opposition”.
The “Badal Government is conspiring to frame” Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira in a drug case, Bajwa said at a Press conference, which also attended by former MlA Khaira, AICC secretary Kuljeet Singh Nagra and two other sitting MlAs. Khaira had been vocal against the Badal family for their alleged “corrupt, tyrannical and unconstitutional rule”.
Unable to bear the brunt of the frontal attack launched by Congress, the Badal duo and their “police militia” have once again embarked on their favourite political vendetta drive, by singling out important party functionaries to gag the voice of the Opposition, Bajwa alleged.
Khaira said that the Badal regime has registered six “false FIRs” against him during the past few years. “Not content with this political victimisation of Khaira and unable to coerce him into silence, the Badals are now conspiring to register more criminal cases against him,” Bajwa said.
“Badal duo has deputed seven SSP rank officers to concoct fake evidence against Khaira, in order to frame him in maliciously false cases…We have been informed by top police sources of this vilification drive, to be launched shortly against Khaira through well planned conspiracy in shape of criminal cases, particularly under the NDPS Act,” he said.
Khaira said that the police had recently arrested former sarpanch of lakhan Ke Padde village in Fazilka Gurdev Singh. “Police under political pressure recorded a false statement of Gurdev Singh after torturing him to implicate Khaira in the drug case,” Bajwa said.
“As Khaira has all along been making complaints or filing petitions with the authorities concerned or the courts, this was the real reason for Badals and the State Director General of Police to vent their ire upon Khaira and put him jail, like they have “falsely framed” Bains brothers.
This power drunken troika just cannot digest any criticism from Opposition quarters and would go to any extent, including physical elimination of their opponents,” he said.
The grossly partisan attitude of the Badals is also apparent from the fact, that they have wilfully preferred to shut blatant cases related to drug operations against Bikram Majithia and Adaish Kairon, merely because of their close relationship.
“We all know, Jagjit Chahal, a co-accused in Rs6,000 crore infamous Jagdish Bhola drug racket, is on record to the Enforcement Directorate of giving Rs35 lakh funds to Bikram Majithia in the drawing room of his 43 Green Avenue residence at Amritsar in 2008, but no SIT has been formed against him. Similarly, Sahib Singh of Patti a close aide of Adaish Kairon was recently arrested with 14 kg of heroin by the Amritsar police, but no investigation has been ordered against him either,” he said.
Bajwa said that the Congress would soon meet the Governor to apprise him of this “political vendetta” against the party functionaries and demanded that Special Investigation Teams be formed to look into the links of the Badals and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia with drug smugglers.
He alleged that the Badals and the DGP are hell bent to ruin his political career and can even go to the extent of eliminating him physically.
Khaira added that “soon the government is going to book me in false cases, they have withdrawn by security cover and I am pretty sure that they are going to physically eliminate me by way of road accident as so many accidents take place”.
Meanwhile, Khaira ruled out the reports of him joining the Aam Aadmi Party. He, however, admitted that at one point of time, he wanted to join AAP as his NRI supporters asked him to do so. “But seeing AAP functioning as they expelled their founder members and dictatorial attitude, I decided to not to go ahead and decided to remain in Congress,” Khaira said.