After crusade against drugs, BJP backs drug-tainted Bikram Majithia

Even as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal did not lead the party press conference on Thursday to defend beleaguered Bikram Singh Majithia, the drug-tainted leader has got support from an unexpected quarter — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Senior leaders Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Daljit Singh Cheema, Maheshinder Grewal and Sikander Singh Maluka addressed the media at the party’s first press conference after the arrest of Majithia for owning Rs 540 crore disproportionate assets allegedly made from drug money laundering. Party sources said not much should be read into Sukhbir’s absence as he had already issued a strong statement on X supporting Majithia.

Akali Dal spokesperson Cheema said the press conference was held after a meeting with Sukhbir. “He did not address it as he is a relative of Majithia,” said Cheema.

They said Sukhbir also supported Majithia while answering queries of mediapersons at Nabha. However, unlike him, his wife and Majithia’s sister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal released a video statement immediately after Majihia’s arrest.

Notably, Majithia had opposed the removal of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh by the SGPC — a major action which could not be taken without approval by Sukhbir. Majithia was immediately reprimanded by then party working president Balwinder Singh Bhunder.

Party sources said the issue had no impact now. The BJP’s support to Majithia has come as a surprise. Senior BJP leaders Sunil Jakhar and Ravneet Singh Bittu have termed the case against him “political vendetta”.

Party’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh said the case against Majithia amounted to an undeclared emergency in Punjab.

This was unusual as the BJP had red-flagged Punjab drugs issue and the need to probe the role of politicians suspected to run the illegal trade much before the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made it a campaign in Punjab. The BJP leaders, led by PM Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh had during their campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, raised the Punjab drug problem prominently.

This despite the fact that Akali leaders sat on the same stage as they were alliance partners with the BJP at that time. The Akalis did not take the allegation lying down. They countered that the drugs were smuggled from across the border and the Border Security Force (BSF), which is under the Centre, was supposed to check it.

The Akalis were so enraged that they organised several anti-drug rallies near the International Border where leaders alleged that the BSF was not doing its job. It was in this background that the Central government increased the BSF’s operating area to 50 km from the border.

The BJP even listed the drug issue as its priority in the election manifesto and promised to check the menace. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which works under the Central government, had later summoned and questioned Majithia a number of times.

However, following a fresh case against Majithia, the BJP leaders are questioning the action of the AAP government. BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh slammed former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann for “weaponising state agencies” to arrest Majithia.

Chugh said, “This is pure political vendetta. Kejriwal apologised to Majithia in 2018 for levelling baseless and unfounded charges on drugs — if that apology was genuine, how is it that Majithia has become an accused today?”

Chugh added that Punjab is sliding into a full-blown police state. Chugh asserted that whatever the truth in the Majithia case, it must be placed before the public transparently, without abusing the machinery of the state.

He urged all Opposition leaders to speak out against this “tyranny” and appealed to the people of Punjab to “rise and uproot such unconstitutional, dictatorial forces”. “This land once defied the Emergency,” Chugh said. “It must do so again.”

Sunil Jakhar, state BJP president, in his statement, said, “No one is above the law, but when institutions (Vigilance Bureau) are used to selectively target individuals while others walk free, it erodes the credibility of both justice and governance.”