A Jalalabad Court on Thursday remanded Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira to two days of police custody in connection with a drugs case registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Following Khaira's arrest from his Chandigarh residence earlier in the morning, he was presented before the chief judicial magistrate at Jalalabad in the afternoon.
The Punjab Police on Thursday morning raided Khaira’s Chandigarh residence and subsequently arrested him in connection with a 2015 case registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
A Punjab Congress delegation will also meet with Governor Banwarilal Purohit in Chandigarh regarding Khaira's arrest in connection with the drugs case.
ALSO READ: Sukhpal Singh Khaira Arrested: What Is 2015 Drugs Case In Which Congress MLA Is Arrested | Explained
"We are going to the Governor's House. This is not the right way to handle the MLA. Today after meeting the Governor, we will go to Fazlika. We will protest against it," Congress leader and former Punjab minister Pargat Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
While talking to the media, Khaira said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had become ‘thirsty of blood’ and he would not be surprised if the letter even gets him ‘physically eliminated’.
“This is pure vendetta politics. Bhagwant Mann is not able to tolerate Opposition in Punjab. On one hand, Mann and Kejriwal are pressurising our Delhi leadership to include them in the INDIA alliance while on the other hand, they want to marginalise Congress in Punjab,” he said.
Following the arrest of Khaira, Congress leaders slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, calling his arrest a ‘political vendetta’ and further demanding the police to come out with evidence against the MLA in the 2015 drugs case.
The arrest of Khaira is expected to sour relations between both parties which have formed the INDIA alliance at the centre. However, the state unit of the Congress denied any tie-up or seat-sharing arrangement with the AAP in Punjab.