Sukhpal Singh Khaira should quit as Leader of Opposition in wake of court summons in drugs case : Sunil Jakhar

5 Dariya News

Chandigarh 02-Nov-2017

Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday said AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira had lost the moral ground to continue as Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha following the summons issued by a Fazilka court against him in a drugs case.Asking Khaira to step down immediately, Jakhar said the serious charges against the AAP leader called for his immediate ouster from all political and statutory posts, saying the Punjab political system under Captain Amarinder Singh had no place for such criminals. In a scathing attack on Khaira, Jakhar asked with what face the AAP leader had been questioning the Captain Amarinder government on its war on drugs with his own background tainted with charges of drugs smuggling. Khaira’s attempts to corner the state government within and outside the state assembly were shameful, indeed, considering his own gory past connections with drugs traders and smugglers, Jakhar added.It may be recalled that Khaira has repeatedly alleged that the drugs mafia continues to be active in the state even after the Congress government has taken over. Jakhar dubbed these allegations as reprehensible in view of the AAP leader’s apparent involvement with the drugs mafia.Pointing to the gravity of the case, Jakhar said what made the charges even more serious was the fact that AAP had always taken a high moral stand over the issue of drugs trading and smuggling in Punjab. That an AAP leader, and that too holding such a senior position, should be named and summoned in a drugs case exposes the double standards of the party, led by Arvind Kejriwal, said the PPCC president and Gurdaspur MP. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had lost all locus standii to be treated as a political party of any standing, he added.Khaira’s name had come up in a heroin smuggling case after the arrest of some drugs smugglers by the Fazilka police in 2015, leading to the neutralization of a trans-border racket. Admitting an application under Section 319, a Fazilka judge has now ordered issuance of summons to Khaira in the case.