Punjab BJP demands CBI inquiry into increasing assets of AAP leaders, Majitha hooch tragedy

The Punjab BJP has submitted a memorandum to Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged rise in assets of Punjab AAP leaders and the tragic Majitha Hooch incident.

The horrific tragedy in Majitha, Amritsar, which claimed 27 lives, has deeply affected the people of Punjab.

The BJP is appalled by the human cost of this tragedy, which they attribute to the AAP’s alleged links with the liquor mafia.

Leading the delegation, state BJP president Sunil Jakhar, has requested a time-bound inquiry into the AAP’s connections with the liquor mafia and their alleged exploitation of Punjab’s excise for personal profit. The BJP claims that the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP regime harbours elements of the liquor mafia and profits from their criminal activities. They also highlight a similar incident in Sangrur in March 2024.

He further points to the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy, under which top AAP leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia have faced legal action. He criticised the CM’s recent claim that “99 per cent of Punjab’s villages are drug-free”, calling it insensitive in light of tragedies involving spurious liquor.

The victims of the Majitha tragedy, mostly daily wage workers, exhibited symptoms consistent with methanol poisoning. The party claimed that the incident, which occurred despite heightened police vigilance in the border district of Amritsar, reflects the failures and politicisation of the police force under the current regime.

The demands for inquiry include the following:

• A CBI investigation into the Amritsar hooch tragedy
• A probe into the alleged connections between AAP’s Punjab leadership and the liquor mafia
• Examination of liquor quotas under the AAP's 2022 Liquor Policy
• Investigation into the quantum of foreign liquor quotas permitted and lifted by liquor contractors since July 2022
• Speed up the ongoing CBI inquiry into the Delhi Excise Policy, including raids conducted in Punjab.
• Investigation of constitutional concerns relating Delhi-based AAP leaders being allotted official residences in Chandigarh
• Investigation into the disappearance of Harpreet Singh alias Harry, reportedly involved in serious criminal activities
• Investigation into the meteoric rise in properties of AAP MLAs, ministers, and their relatives during the party's three-year regime in Punjab.