CHANDIGARH – Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia was the main target of the Opposition Congress in the Vidhan Sabha proceedings. After the privilege motion moved by the Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar was kept in abeyance by Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, the Congress decided to make the best use of the debate on the Governor’s address by cleverly steering the discussion on the drug issue.
The charge of taking on the powerful minister was left on Congress MLA from Dera Baba Nanak Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa after the Speaker refused to allow the privilege motion moved by Jakhar against Bikram Majithia on the pretext that he was yet to decide on allowing it.
Randhawa exhorted the Chief Minister to demand Majithia’s resignation and not to go down in history as a person who “headed a government that promoted drug addiction and was responsible for the youth of the state going astray”.
The Chief Minister, however, praised Majithia for his statesmanship qualities and political acumen.
“In the Governor’s address, it is mentioned that 3.5 lakh persons have been treated for drug addiction. Going by these numbers, it is an admission by the government that almost all families in Punjab are addicted to drugs, directly or indirectly. Earlier, you could point at the UPA government and blame it for BSF laxity in controlling drug smuggling, but with your own government at the Centre, what is your defence on the issue now,” he said.
Randhawa also raised the issue of same DSPs and SHOs being posted at police stations in Tarn Taran district. They were protecting men owing allegiance to the powerful politicians involved in the drug trade, he said.
This was followed by a verbal duel between Randhawa and Majithia, who said the former had selective memory and was forgetting how some Congress leaders were involved in the drug trade. “Let law take its course,” he said.
The CM said he was upset that political leaders of various parties were turning each other’s enemies. “If a person gives a statement against me tomorrow, will you believe him? I don’t want to say much on the issue as the matter is sub judice, with both the ED and the Punjab Police probing the allegations. I don’t want to get into the merits or demerits of the case. Wait for the probe to finish,” he said.
