New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday demanded a CBI probe into an alleged drug racket in Punjab, the kingpin of which has named a state minister as having been involved in it.
Noting that the matter was of a serious nature, Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed said that party leaders from Punjab would meet President Pranab Mukherjee and other Union Ministers over the issue.
Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia`s name has come up in the affair.
Noting that Majithia was, "the brother-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal", Ahmed added that, "We all know that Badal virtually runs the government there".
"It is surprising that BJP and Akali Dal leaders, who hold press conferences on every small issue... Are keeping mum on this", he said.
He also made a jibe at BJP leaders, including the party`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, for their alleged silence on the issue.
He claimed that Modi had cancelled a rally scheduled in Moga for fear that he would be questioned about the alleged drugs racket.
"Primarily, it is the state government`s duty to stop (such rackets). But since they are trying to hide facts, we are raising them. This is no longer a local issue in Punjab. It can affect people in Delhi and other states... Some arrests have been made in Haryana as well. That is why we are asking the Centre to do whatever is needed," Ahmed added.
Majithia has already denied the charges of his involvement in the alleged racket.
The alleged kingpin, Jagdish Singh Bhola, had on Monday said that Majithia was involved in the racket.
Bhola, a dismissed Punjab police DSP, had told reporters outside a court in Mohali that Majithia was involved in the racket while alleging that police had hushed up the charge.
