CHANDIGARH: Former deputy chief minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and chief minister Bhagwant Mann were playing a dangerous game by withdrawing the security cover of senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia and asserted the SAD would resolutely fight the conspiracy to eliminate its leadership.
The SAD leader, who visited Mr Bikram Majithia at the latter’s residence here along with senior leaders including party Working President Balwinder Singh Bhundar, said “chief minister Bhagwant Mann is power drunk. He takes wild decisions at night and forces police officers to implement them. This is a clear case of misuse of power. The entire security cover of a Z plus protectee was withdrawn last Saturday in the late hours. All the security personnel attached with Majithia were asked to either report back to their respective battalions immediately or be presumed to have absconded while on duty. All this was done without even informing Majithia’s security incharge”.
Asserting such illogical orders had led to the assassination of noted singer Sidhu Moosewala, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “the government has targeted Bikram Majithia because the latter was speaking out against the chief minister and exposing Bhagwant Mann on every conceivable occasion”.
Asserting that the AAP government had earlier created the conditions for a murderous attack on him, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “the Amritsar Police facilitated a radical to attack me while I was performing ‘sewa’ at the entrance of Sri Darbar Sahib. Instead of recording my statement, the police recorded a FIR as per its convenience to ensure the release of the accused on bail after a short period of three months”.
Mr Badal, who was accompanied by senior leaders including Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, took a firsthand account of the entire incident from Mr Majithia and assured the latter that the SAD was with him. He said the people of Punjab would protect Majithia as one of their own and reject outsiders like Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Bibhav Kumar who were camping in palatial buildings with huge security covers in Punjab after being ousted from Delhi. “Both Kejriwal and Sisodia are accused in the multi crore liquor scam while Bibhav is facing charges of molesting a party MP but this has not prevented the AAP government from handing over the entire State machinery to them”, he added.