In a surprising turn, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come out in support of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who was recently arrested in a case involving ₹540 crore in allegedly illegal assets linked to drug money laundering.
While SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal did not personally attend the party’s press conference on Thursday, senior Akali leaders including Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Daljit Singh Cheema, Maheshinder Grewal, and Sikander Singh Maluka defended Majithia publicly. Party sources played down Sukhbir’s absence, noting he had already issued a strong statement on social media backing his brother-in-law.
Akali spokesperson Daljit Cheema clarified that the press conference followed a meeting with Sukhbir and that the SAD chief did not speak only because of his close family ties with Majithia. Meanwhile, Bathinda MP and Majithia’s sister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, released a video statement supporting her brother soon after his arrest.
Interestingly, Majithia had earlier clashed with his own party over the removal of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, which caused internal friction. However, SAD sources say this issue no longer has any bearing on current developments.
What truly raised eyebrows, though, was the BJP’s defense of Majithia. Party leaders, including national general secretary Tarun Chugh and state president Sunil Jakhar, have called the case a politically motivated move by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab.
Chugh accused Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann of misusing state agencies for political gains. “This is pure political vendetta,” he said, referring to Kejriwal’s earlier public apology to Majithia in 2018 after making similar drug allegations. Chugh argued that Punjab was turning into a “police state” and urged citizens to resist “dictatorial” actions.
Sunil Jakhar added, “No one is above the law, but when only selected individuals are targeted while others are untouched, the credibility of the system suffers.”
The BJP’s defense is seen as ironic by many, considering the party had previously criticized Punjab’s drug problem and even questioned the role of Akali leaders during its 2014 election campaign. At that time, the Akalis, then in alliance with the BJP, had accused the Centre of failing to stop cross-border drug smuggling, blaming the Border Security Force (BSF) for lax control.
Now, despite having once investigated Majithia through agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, BJP leaders are questioning the new case, calling it a political attack rather than a fair probe.
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