Drug charges: Kejriwal says sorry, Majithia withdraws defamation case
AAPOLOGETIC It’s a meek surrender, cry party’s Punjab leaders, say they weren’t consulted
CHANDIGARH: Former Akali Dal minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday withdrew a defamation case filed against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party colleague, Ashish Khaitan, at an Amritsar court last year.
Majithia took the step after Kejriwal – also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener – sent a letter apologising for levelling “unfounded” allegations of drug trade against him in the run-up to the state assembly polls last January. The defamation case was filed on May 20, 2016, a few days after Kejriwal accused Majithia of being involved in the drug trade at an AAP rally in Amritsar. The issue became the main rallying point of the fledgling party’s poll campaign against the Akali-BJP government in the weeks that followed.
Kejriwal, in his letter, expressed regret over tarnishing Majithia’s reputation. “In the past, I made certain statements against you regarding your alleged involvement in the drug trade. These statements became a political issue. Now I have found that the allegations are unfounded, and hence, there should be no politics on such issues. I hereby withdraw all the statements and allegations made against you and apologise for the same,” he wrote.
Soon afterwards, Majithia announced that he has decided to withdraw the case against Kejriwal and Khaitan in the light of the apology. “I am thankful to my party, its leaders, my family and the lawyers who stood by me in these tough times,” he said at a press brief- ing on Thursday. A similar case filed against Sanjay Singh, the then Punjab incharge of AAP, is still being pursued in a Ludhiana court.
Kejriwal’s apology drew flak from party’s Punjab unit leaders who described it a “meek surrender.” “We’re appalled n stunned by the apology of @arvindkejriwal tendered today, we don’t hesitate to admit that we haven’t been consulted on this meek surrender by a leader of his stature,” wrote leader of opposition Sukhpal Khaira on Twitter. In another tweet, Khaira said he would continue tirade on burning issue of drugs destroying the youth of Punjab.
Kharar AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu also tweeted saying that apology is a letdown to the people, especially the youth of Punjab. “We in Punjab have not been taken into loop. Our fight for Punjab continues,” he said.
AAP co-president Aman Arora said he was shocked and disappointed to know about the apology tendered by Kejriwal. “I still believe drugs would not have taken so many young lives had the previous government not patronised drug mafia. Our fight against drugs continues,” he tweeted.
The apology is a letdown to the people, especially the youth of the state. We in Punjab have not been taken into loop. KANWAR SANDHU, Kharar AAP MLA
THE ED SUMMONED MAJITHIA TWICE IN 2015 IN MONEYLAUNDERING PROBE IN THE JAGDISH BHOLA DRUG RACKET
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government has appointed a two-member panel to examine and suggest action on the special task force (STF) report on the alleged role of former revenue minister and Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia with drug traffickers.
The report, prepared by the STF headed by IPS officer HS Sidhu, was submitted in a sealed cover to high court on February 1. On the same day, HC had directed the government to examine the report and decide on further action.
A private TV channel on Thursday evening claimed that “STF report has prime facie found evidence against Majithia and recommended further probe”. However, Hindustan Times could not verify it.
The court had asked the STF to prepare a report after ED official Niranjan Singh submitted in court on November 28, 2017, that Majithia’s role needs probing.
Punjab advocate general Atul Nanda told the special division bench of high court presided over by justice Surya Kant and justice Shekher Dhawan that the STF report was examined by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who also holds home portfolio. The CM assigned it to two senior officers, said Nanda, not disclosing the name of the officers.
The court gave three weeks to the advocate general to submit as to what action the government plans to take on the basis of the report. “Both the officers are unwell hence they could not finalise as to what action the government can take,” Nanda said, seeking more time.
The ED summoned Majithia twice in 2015 in the money-laundering probe in the Jagdish Bhola drug racket. On the statements of three accused — sacked DSP Jagdish Bhola, businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal and SAD leader Maninder Singh Aulakh — in 2014 and 2015, the ED found “complicity of Majithia in the drug trade”.