The Shiromani Akali Dal castigated the Congress government in Assembly on Wednesday for trying to "prevent" gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is lodged in a jail in Punjab, from being transferred to Uttar Pradesh.
During the zero hour on the third day of the budget session, Akali Dal legislator Bikram Singh Majithia claimed gangsters used to run away to Uttar Pradesh earlier, but now they were being kept as "guests"
The Uttar Pradesh government had told the Supreme Court last month that the Punjab administration was "shamelessly" protecting Ansari by not sending him to face trial in several cases. Punjab had referred to the medical condition of Ansari and said he had been undergoing treatment at the jail hospital, as well as other hospitals from time to time since January 2019.
Ansari is presently lodged in a prison in Rupnagar district in connection with an alleged extortion case registered in 2019.
Majithia alleged that a "noted" lawyer was hired for Ansari's case in the Supreme Court by the state government.
Ansari is facing several cases like murder and extortion. His case has become a "joke", the Akali Dal leader said.
Talking to the media outside the Assembly later, Majithia asked the Amarinder Singh government to explain why it was keeping Ansari as a "state guest" in a jail for more than two years and even spending money to "prevent" his transfer to Uttar Pradesh.
Majithia alleged that crores of rupees were being spent to "defend" Ansari in the apex court even though the government did not have funds for the Scheduled Castes scholarship scheme, social welfare benefits and government employees.
The former minister said Ansari was arrested and brought to Punjab on the basis of a "vague" complaint that was registered in Mohali.
Published 03 March 2021, 16:57 IST