Akali Dal urges Governor to order probe into Punjab liquor policy
Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 Aug, 2022 10:40 AM
Chandigarh, Aug 31 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday urged the Governor to recommend CBI and ED probes into the alleged excise scam of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab.
Shiromani Akali Dal or me can never be brow beaten by such threats. We have faced political vendetta before but stood firm on our ideals and principles. We will never be cow downed by such tactics.#Summonpic.twitter.com/BZznYBYedz
It said the revamped excise policy of the state government was akin to the Delhi policy and that the same modus operandi was used to give control of the liquor trade to henchmen in return for kickbacks running into hundreds of crores.
A SAD delegation led by its president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and handed over a memorandum stating that the Chief Minister and the Excise Minister have violated the provisions of the Official Secrets Act by making official files of the state available to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and MP Raghav Chadha, besides private persons.
It also listed that the Delhi Chief Secretary had in his report stated that the Delhi excise policy is a quid pro quo arrangement at the top level.
It said since the Punjab policy was a copy of the Delhi one, the role of the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Chadha and the Punjab Excise Minister, and other private persons should be probed.
It said this case fell within the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act and a case should be registered in this regard also.
At a meeting with the Punjab Revenue Officers Association here, the minister assured representatives of the association that all their demands will be considered sympathetically, while asking them to immediately join their offices in larger public interest.
Chairing a high-level review meeting with officials of the NRI Affairs Department and members of the NRI Commission, he issued directions that the appointment of the nodal officers should be made in a transparent manner and working of these officers should be reviewed by the Deputy Commissioners on a regular basis.
On March 24, the police received a tip-off that two members of this cartel -- Dinesh and Nazir -- have collected a big consignment of heroin from Jharkhand and would come to Delhi to deliver the supply of contraband to one of their contacts.
Presiding over the valedictory function of three-day Punjabi cinema, television and theatre mega show jointly organised by the Punjabi Film and TV Actors' Association and Punjabi University here, he reiterated his government's firm commitment that no student would be bereft of higher education due to paucity of funds.
Nishad, the main accused has reportedly fled the country. Property worth Rs 36.62 crore belonging to Nishad and others were earlier attached by the ED. Gafoor, the director of Stox Global Brokers Private Limited, was arrested as Rs 39 crore which was reportedly proceeds of crime was transferred through his firm. The ED has claimed that his firm is basically a shell company.
Responding to the question of Samajwadi Party Member Rewati Raman Singh, the Minister of State, Health, Bharati Pawar said that altogether, 22 All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are being set up in the country. Out of 10 proposed in the first phase, six have started functioning with all departments.
