Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader and general secretary Bikram Singh Majithia today said Pradesh Congress president Partap Bajwas’s shady past and long history of drug smuggling and links with terror modules had been officially detailed by former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh in a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and in such a situation only a sudden drug test on the PCC chief could deliver results.
“Mark my words. Bajwa is a master Houdini who can hoodwink anyone. He could very well go into a 72 hour quarantine to pass any drug test which is not conducted in a random manner and over a definite period of time”, Mr Majithia said in a statement here.
Giving details, the SAD general secretary said repeated surprise checks could however nail Bajwa. He said Bajwa’s past was in public domain as former CM Capt Amarinder Singh had written a three page letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in July 2012 detailing Bajwa’s links with the drug mafia including the fact that the Bajwa family was known for gold smuggling earlier but had shifted to smuggling narcotics and fake currency from across the border with Pakistan in later years. “Capt Amarinder must be having some concrete information to make such serious allegations. Since Amarinder was the chief minister from 2002-2007 and also looked after home affairs he must be speaking on the basis of intelligence inputs received by him. Ever since this letter was made public Bajwa has never tried to either contradict Capt Amarinder or sue the former chief minister for making false allegations against him.
Majithia said recently Capt Amarinder, under whom Bajwa had served as a minister, had even called him “foolish” but Bajwa had failed to react to this assertion. The people of Punjab can draw their own inference from this”, he added.Mr Majithia said the Congress high command had also been hood winked by the PCC chief. “Capt Amarinder had clearly stated in his letter that the facts being given by him could be verified from central investigating agencies. However it seems Bajwa, being a master fixer, fixed members of the Congress high command also and ensured Capt Amarinder’s disclosures were not pursued to their logical conclusion”.
Stating that the tainted past of the Bajwa family was part of public record, the akali leader said a national news magazine had catalogued the misdeeds of Partap Bajwa’s brother Fatehjang Singh and even printed photographs of the latter’s interrogation. “These can be easily accessed”. He said similarly the allegations leveled against Partap Bajwa by his own party men be it the scandal of Gujarat or allegations of wrong doing as PWD minister in the purchase of bitumen were also part of public record. “Recently the PCC chief was also exposed as a land grabber with proof of him appropriating panchayat land being brought to light by his own party leader”.
The SAD general secretary said in such a situation it was very difficult to believe Partap Bajwa. “Before he answers anything he needs to answer his own party men whom he has been misleading at every juncture. He should also tell the people why his own party men had started an agitation against him titled “Bajwa bhajao Congress bachao”. He said this was the reason why the dharna led by him at Jalandhar two days back was boycotted by the party rank and file. The entire media reported how only 300 persons collected at the dharna site and how a frustrated Bajwa vented his anger at his own party leaders. “In direct contrast lakhs of Punjabis congregated at the three dharnas organized by the SAD at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadiqi to give a clear cut warning to anti national elements that Punjabis will not tolerate drugs being smuggled into their State from Pakistan”.
In the end, Mr Majithia said one understood that the Congress was issueless. “But at least the party must stand up to certain moral and ethical values. It is for the party to evaluate Mr Bajwa in light of the serious allegations leveled against him by his own party leaders. The people of Punjab, which have already voted against Bajwa and defeated him soundly from Gurdaspur, have given their verdict. Now it is for the Congress high command to give its verdict”, Mr Majithia added.