Hooch tragedy: Bikram Majithia demands Excise Minister’s resignation, action against culprits

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Excise Minister Harpal Singh Cheema as well as other perpetrators of the spurious liquor tragedy which resulted in death of 20 people in villages of Majitha.

Majithia along with his wife Ganieve Majithia, MLA, Majitha, visited the grieving families.

Terming it as a nexus between ruling party leaders and drug mafia, Majithia said it was shocking that those who had acquired genuine licences for running the liquor trade were being harassed while goons were having a field day by selling spurious liquor at their own rates.

He said he was already aware of the situation but avoided raising it during heightened tensions and the subsequent conflict with Pakistan.

“Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Excise Minister Harpal Singh Cheema were directly responsible for this sorry state of affairs. It was shocking that even the postmortem of the deceased had not been conducted,” he said.

Demanding at least Rs 25 lakh compensation for the families of every deceased, Majithia said as the government earns Rs 11,000 crore as revenue from excise duties, it can easily provide adequate compensation to the victims of the spurious liquor tragedy.

He said this was not the first such case during the tenure of the AAP government. “Earlier, more than 20 persons died in Sangrur last year, besides other tragedies. These tragedies were occurring because goons of the ruling party were hand in glove with those doing this illegal trade.

He said SAD stands with the aggrieved families and would fight to ensure justice for them.