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Drug case: SAD, BJP demand Khaira’s removal as LoP

Accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira of having links with Pakistan in a trans-border drug case,…

Drug case: SAD, BJP demand Khaira’s removal as LoP

Sukhpal Singh Khaira (Photo:Twitter)

Accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira of having links with Pakistan in a trans-border drug case, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday demanded Khaira’s removal from Assembly as Leader of Opposition (LoP).

A high level SAD-BJP delegation met Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore and submitted a memorandum in this regard.

Giving details of the case against Khaira, the SAD president Sukhbir Badal briefed the Governor that Khaira had been summoned as an accused in a drugs case with anti-national antecedents due to seizure of Pak weapons and SIMs by a Fazilka court.

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He said following this the AAP leader approached the high court to get the order aside but the court not only upheld it, but also asserted that no political vendetta had been done against him.

Badal said that the Governor should act expeditiously in this matter as this was an extraordinary case in which the LoP had been made an accused after submission of overwhelming evidence against him.

The SAD-BJP delegation including senior SAD leaders SS Dhindsa and BS Bhundur besides Som Parkash from the BJP also urged the Governor to direct the state government to immediately implement the `90,000 crore loan waiver as promised by it.

They said farm suicides were on the rise due to the delay and farmer accounts had been declared as non performing assets making them ineligible to take future loans.

The delegation also asserted that the Congress government had deliberately not hiked the State Assured Price (SAP) of sugarcane because its ministers were sugar barons. The SAD-BJP leaders said it was a clear case of conflict of interest.

They requested the Governor to direct the government to hike the price to at least `350 per quintal, saying even Haryana was paying `330 per quintal against `300 per quintal SAP in Punjab.

The delegation also urged the Governor to direct the government to take action against sand mining mafia being allegedly run by Congress legislators in Punjab.

The SAD-BJP leaders also requested the Governor to ensure 60:40 ratio of officers between Punjab and Haryana in Chandigarh administration besides enforcing Punjabi as the official language of the Union Territory (UT).

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