A day after a court in Fazilka summoned Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira, the clamour for his resignation grew today with both the ruling Congress and the opposition Akalis questioning the Aam Aadmi Party leader's continuation in the post.
However, Khaira hit back reminding both the parties that their leaders -- Amarinder Singh, Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal -- never resigned from their positions despite being summoned and charge-sheeted in corruption cases in the past.
A court in Fazilka sentenced nine people to imprisonment yesterday in a trans-border heroin smuggling racket, which surfaced in 2015, and summoned Khaira on November 30.
Asking Khaira to step down immediately, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar said the AAP leader has lost the moral right to continue in the post of the opposition leader in the Assembly after "serious charges" were levelled against him, and called for his immediate ouster from all political and statutory posts.
Recalling Khaira's previous attempts to corner the state government on drugs issue, the Gurdaspur MP said it exposed the "double-standards" of the party led by Arvind Kejriwal.
Joining the chorus, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said the face of the AAP had become the face of drugs in Punjab and wondered if Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the Delhi chief minister, would walk the talk and expel him from the party.
Senior SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal demanded apology from Kejriwal to the people of Punjab for appointing Khaira as the Leader of the Opposition.
Meanwhile, Khaira chided Congress and Akali leaders seeking his resignation for "merely being summoned by a Fazilka court".
He reminded the Badals that when the father-son duo took oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister in 2007, they were not only summoned by the court, but also charge-sheeted in a disproportionate assets case.
Similarly even now Sukhbir is facing trial in an attempt to murder case when he beat up a photographer of Kotkapura in a court, Khaira added, daring the junior Badal to resign as the SAD president before seeking his resignation.
Similarly, he said, Amarinder Singh has also been summoned and is facing trial in two corruption cases involving Ludhiana City Centre and Amritsar Improvement Trust.
"Will the Congress leaders advising me, ask Captain Amarinder Singh to resign as chief minister," he said.
Khaira said that in case both Amarinder Singh and Sukhbir Singh Badal offered to resign from their positions to uphold ethics and morality in politics, he would follow suit.
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