The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked AAP leader of opposition Sukhpal Khaira to desist from trying to cover up his tracks with statements aimed at deflecting attention from his misdeeds for which he had been declared an accused by a court of law.In a statement here, former minister and party spokesman Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema said it was shameful that instead of coming clean and confessing his role in a sordid trans border drug and arms smuggling racket, Sukhpal Khaira was trying to deflect attention from himself by acting holier than thou. "Such protestations as done yesterday to project yourself as a champion of debate won't wash any ice. Punjabis are shocked at your obstinacy to stick to your chair and besmirch it even after you have been declared an accused by a Fazilka court. Your attempt to get this order set aside has also been rejected by the Honorable High Court. Your latest attempt to shift the focus from the international drug racket on which you have been described as the king pin is nothing but cheap politics".
Meanwhile Dr Cheema said the SAD stood for extended debate in the Vidhan Sabha and asked Speaker Rana K P Singh to fix time for a full fledged debate on the disgrace Sukhpal Khaira had brought to the august house as well as post of leader of opposition. "This is of utmost importance as AAP had talked about being a party with a difference besides maintaining it stood for morality and ethics in politics". He said such a debate would also give ample opportunity to the AAP legislature group to tell Punjabis whether it would side with a drug accused to stand for probity in public life.The Akali leader also asked the Speaker to examine whether Sukhpal Khaira should be allowed entry into the Vidhan Sabha as this was likely to lower the prestige of the assembly and could also result in unforeseen circumstances. He said AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal could yet save his party from this ignominy by sacking Khaira from the primary membership of the party and appointing a new leader of opposition. Dr Cheema said separate time should also be taken out to debate the deliverability of the Congress government. He said the government had failed to deliver on each and every promise be it loan waiver to farmers, to ghar ghar naukari and unemployment dole to youth. "All these issues also need to be discussed in detail", he added.