Navjot Kaur Sidhu attacks Congress govt in Punjab; alleges capitulation to liquor mafia

Former Punjab MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress government in the state when she indirectly agreed that her own party has failed to end the "mafia system". Navjot Kaur responded to a tweet where a user praised the efforts of her husband and former state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu by saying that he tried to end the "mafia system in Punjab he alone cannot fight the politically backed mafia."

'It's 5% corrupt verses 95% honest'

She said, "Yes, we tried our best, but they are all together in the corrupt nexus. But one should never lose hope because I repeat again and again; it’s 5% corrupt verses 95% honest and those who will mend themselves after stricter laws and discipline provided it is SAME RULES FOR ALL."

This comes after Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday demanded a probe by a central agency into alleged rampant liquor smuggling and loss of excise revenue in Punjab.

Partap Bajwa seeks probe into liquor mafia

In a series of tweets, Bajwa said the liquor mafia was growing in the state and it was time to allow a central agency or a sitting judge who is independent of the government of Punjab to investigate this immediately.

The Rajya Sabha MP said the legacy of the Congress government in the state must not be that of failing to rein in the liquor mafia and the government-contractor nexus.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Saturday directed police to crack down on liquor smuggling in a bid to prevent revenue loss to the cash-strapped state. The Chief Minister also ordered immediate action against the DSPs and SHOs under whose jurisdictions liquor smuggling or illegal distillation takes place, said a government release.

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Director-General of Police Dinkar Gupta issued necessary directives to all commissioners of police and district police chiefs in the state to identify liquor smugglers by May 23. The officers have been asked to take all possible legal action against such persons, including under relevant provisions of the Disaster Management and the Epidemic Diseases Act, the release said.

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(With agency inputs)