Just the way allegations levelled by dismissed Punjab Police Deputy Superintendent Jagdish Singh Bhola upon his arrest in the synthetic drugs case in January last against Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia had kicked up much political dirt, the timing of the questioning of the Akali leader by the Enforcement Directorate almost a year later and just days before BJP president Amit Shah is to launch a State-wide campaing against drugs in Punjab from Amritsar on January 12 has raised many questions.
It was soon after dust had settled on the Maharashtra elections, where the BJP emerged the single largest party and formed the government after parting ways with its long-standing ally, the Shiv Sena, that the drug issue again came into spotlight in Punjab. First came the news in later November about the ED under Union Finance Ministry preparing to summon Mr. Majithia and preparing a detailed questionnaire for him.
Consequently, Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma demanded his removal from the Cabinet saying “even top BJP leaders such as Advani had stepped down on moral grounds and Akali Ministers Sarwan Singh Phillaur and Gulzar Singh Ranike had also been forced to resign” after their names cropped up. But in case of Mr. Majithia, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal insisted that mere summoning did not make anyone culpable or an accused.
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This was followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to the drug problem in Punjab during the third episode of his radio programme, “Mann ki Baat”. As if taking the cue, various BJP leaders such as Navjot Singh Sidhu as also party Ministers like Anil Joshi began demanding Mr. Majithia’s removal.
BJP national president Amit Shah, while declaring that the SAD-BJP alliance was intact, said that the two would contest the civic polls in Punjab together. Clearly, with the next Assembly polls due in 2017, the BJP is in no hurry to walk out of the eight-year-old alliance government in Punjab just yet. But Mr. Shah had also obliquely hinted that the Akalis should prepare for a lesser role in future like the Shiv Sena by saying that in alliance politics too the parties should see who the people were voting for. Incidentally, Mr Shah is due to launch a Statewide campaign against drugs from Amritsar on January 12.
The timing of the summons to Mr Majithia, right on the eve of the three-day Winter Session of Punjab Assembly beginning December 22, was also crucial as the issue dominated the entire session. National secretary of BJP Tarun Chugh also jumped in and demanded Mr Majithia’s resignation. Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar of the Congress seized on the opportunity and brought a no-confidence vote against the Badal Government. Though through the motion he also sought to corner BJP for its doublespeak on the issue, BJP did not play ball and voted against it, leading to its defeat by a voice vote.
'An eyewash'
This has, however, once again given the Congress an opportunity to attack both the Akalis and the BJP. State Congress president Pratap Singh Bajwa maintained that both the Centre and State Government were treating Mr. Majithia with kid-gloves and the ED probe was nothing but an eyewash since the Directorate can only probe the money-laundering aspect whereas the allegations against Majithia were of “aiding, abetting and facilitating the multi-thousand crore drug racket for which the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 would apply.”
The Aam Aadmi Party, which won four Lok Sabha seats in the last elections, has also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Its leader and Supreme Court advocate H.S. Phoolka alleged that the BJP has been a party to the cover-up so far.