The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday announced candidature of former minister Bikram Singh Majithia from Amritsar East constituency, pitching him against PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in what is being seen as a potential mother of all political battles in Punjab.
Party president Sukhbir Singh Badal announced this in Amritsar on Wednesday, hours after Majithia, who was booked in a drugs smuggling case, demanded his case should be investigated by a panel of three DGPs – Dinkar Gupta, Prabodh Kumar and VK Bhawra.
Sukhbir also formally announced his father and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal as party’s candidate from the Badal family’s traditional seat of Lambi in Muktsar.
“Majithia is a Gur Sikh who has been wrongly implicated in a drugs case. He will take on the Congress state president Navjot Singh Sidhu who was instrumental in the political vendetta against Majithia. Sidhu will suffer a humiliating defeat,” Sukhbir announced.
Sidhu has been vociferously demanding action against Majithia in the drugs case and had even had a run-in with his own government over delays in filing an FIR and later his arrest. Observers believe that by deciding to take Sidhu head-on, Majithia was trying to send a strong political message in a constituency considered to be one of the important centres of Panthic politics.
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Soon after the announcement Majithia tweeted: “I express my gratitude to Akali Dal chief S.Sukhbir S.Badal Ji for giving me the opportunity to contest from Amritsar East constituency. Akalis have a brave history of fighting to safeguard the rights of Punjabis & protecting them from the anti-Punjab elements like @sherryontopp.”
I express my gratitude to Akali Dal chief S.Sukhbir S.Badal Ji for giving me the opportunity to contest from Amritsar East constituency. Akalis have a brave history of fighting to safeguard the rights of Punjabis & protecting them from the anti-Punjab elements like @sherryontopp.— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) January 26, 2022
Earlier, in a press conference, Majithia appealed to the Election Commission of India to hold the Congress government accountable for violating high court directives and conducting raids on his residence and harassing his family members even before the court passed its final verdict on his anticipatory bail plea.
He also demanded a National Investigation Agency (NIA) inquiry into the audio-tape expose of DGP S Chatttopadhay, saying the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab could have even resulted in an assassination bid on the PM.
He said attempts were being made to prevent him from contesting the assembly elections and this was why the police force was pressed into service to raid his residences even before the high court passed its verdict on his anticipatory bail plea application.
The Akali leader said, “It seems the law is different for me and the same rules are not applied to Congressmen be it Sukhpal Khaira, who is accused of drug smuggling, or Sidhu Moosewala, who is accused of firing an AK-47, or even Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) leader Simarjit Singh Bains, against whom non-bailable warrants have been issued. No raids have been conducted at their houses. Sukhpal Khaira’s residence was not raided even though he failed to get any relief from the high court. The Congress government has not even proceeded against Bhupinder Honey, from whom Rs 10 crore was recovered by the ED, for illegally using the security cover of the chief minister.”
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