SAD seeks CBI probe into ‘illicit liquor sale scam’ in Punjab

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday alleged that a constitutional crisis has erupted in Punjab with cabinet ministers expressing loss of faith in the government even as it demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the alleged “multithousand crore scam” involving sale of illicit liquor in the state during curfew by “distilleries owned by Congress leaders and their friends”.

In a statement, SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said, “It was unfortunate when every state was doing its utmost to combat COVID-19, the Punjab cabinet was fighting with bureaucrats as witnessed in yesterday’s pre-cabinet meeting.”

He said, “With the cabinet not trusting the bureaucrats and vice versa, there is a leadership crisis due to which Punjab and Punjabis are suffering. The Punjab government should stop questioning the Union government everyday to divert attention from its failures and tell the people why its leaders and their friends were allowed to loot the state exchequer.”

Meanwhile, former deputy speaker of Punjab assembly Bir Devinder Singh also said that “sordid developments that emerged from the pre-cabinet meeting” has pushed the state into a constitutional crisis.