Will ED summon Majithia or not?

 Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar/Chandigarh, November 24

Whether or not the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will summon Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia in the drugs case is a topic being debated widely in the state.

The issue came to the limelight after the minister's name re-surfaced in the alleged statements of accused Bittu Aulakh and Jagjit Chahal, and some of their family members. 

The main accused and kingpin in the Rs 6,000 crore synthetic drugs racket, former Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdish Singh Bhola, was the first to allege Majithia's involvement.

The central agency has questioned or summoned several politicians named by Bhola. The names of some others had figured in a diary seized by the Income Tax department from Goraya-based businessman Chuni Lal Gaba, also linked in the case. But so far, Majithia has not been summoned despite the opposition parties, particularly the Congress, raising a hue and cry. 

Those questioned included senior SAD leader and former Punjab Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur, another senior Akali leader and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Avinash Chander, Congress' Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary and Phillaur's son Damanbir Singh. The main allegations against Majithia have been his links with the NRIs, though the minister had dubbed these "baseless". 

The Congress has remained divided over the issue. While PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa has been seeking a CBI probe, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh has been in favour of a simultaneous investigation by the Punjab Police.  Akali Dal's alliance partner BJP, too, of late has started raking up the issue, probably to squeeze some political mileage amidst speculations that the saffron party was working towards going it all alone in the 2017 Assembly elections.

Sources said the ED was prepared to summon Majithia and had almost completed various formalities such as recording of statements of the other accused and some of their relatives, and questioned other people suspected to be linked to the racket.  It is reportedly awaiting a green signal from the Union Ministry of Finance. Questioning Majithia would be mandatory for the agency before it presented challan in the court, said sources.