Chandigarh: Amid controversy surrounding a purported Enforcement Directorate (ED) letter to the director general of police, Punjab, regarding a close aide of senior Aam Aadmi Party leader, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of acting as a spokesperson of the BJP and central investigative agencies.Cheema’s remarks follow a news conference held by SAD functionary Bikram Singh Majithia concerning the ED communication.Cheema told mediapersons, “It is baffling how a communication addressed to the DGP by the ED is being weaponised by the Akali Dal to defame the Aam Aadmi Party. This clearly shows that SAD is functioning as an extended wing and spokesperson of the BJP, desperately trying to find a political lease on life.”The minister said, “During the SAD-BJP tenure, Punjab was devastated on all fronts. Parents were forced to sell their lands, homes, and life savings just to send their children abroad out of fear that the drug mafia nurtured by govt would destroy their future.”“The BJP has no faith in democratic values or the Constitution. Whenever elections approach, or an opposition govt stands firm, the machinery of central agencies is unleashed to threaten political opponents and break govts,” he added.Replying to a question, Cheema said it was a communication between the ED and the DGP and no one was aware of its contents. “But if the Akali Dal is making allegations based on the letter, it shows that it is acting as an agent of the ED and the BJP,” he reiterated.
