Centre shielding leader, says Arora

State AAP president and Punjab Minister Aman Arora on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Centre and the Congress of “shielding" SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia and weakening the ongoing fight against drug trafficking.

Arora highlighted the recent development where the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) demanded all documents related to the new FIR filed against Majithia.

“This demand by the NCB is not an act of due process, but a deliberate ploy to assist Majithia and other drug traders in building their defence. This reveals BJP’s true intent of protecting drug syndicates instead of eradicating them,” he said addressing mediapersons here.

The AAP leader criticised BJP leaders for their “hypocrisy”, citing instances when Ravneet Singh Bittu and Sunil Jakhar had “openly opposed” the state government’s action against Majithia.

“It is clear that the Congress and the BJP, instead of supporting Punjab’s fight against drugs, have repeatedly come to Majithia’s defence,” he remarked.

He further slammed the BJP for “activating central agencies to undermine Punjab’s efforts”.

Criticising Congress leader Partap Bajwa, Arora remarked, “Punjab Congress leaders are incapable of holding any moral ground. Changing their stance every few days has exposed their opportunistic politics, shaming even chameleons.”

BJP questions ‘inaction’ against former minister

Meanwhile, the Punjab BJP questioned AAP government’s alleged inaction against its former minister Vijay Singla in a corruption case.

Vineet Joshi said shortly after forming the government on May 24 in 2022, CM Bhagwant Mann had claimed to have received evidence of corruption against Singla and stated that the minister had confessed before him.

Mann then accepted Singla’s resignation and had him arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. However, the VB recently submitted a closure report in a Mohali court, stating that there was no evidence against Singla or his staff.

Joshi asked Mann why he was hesitating in taking action against AAP leaders who have been publicly accused of involvement in the drug trade.

Punjab