As his party cries for vengeance, the state waits with bated breath to see what the man, who has so far managed to stop every curve ball coming his way, will do next. It’s a reputation he’s built partly because of his legal team, which quickly removes all obnoxious material that comes his way since 2014, when cop Jagdish Bhola, an Arjuna Award-winning wrestler, was allegedly arrested by a police officer. Was dismissed from the police service for running. The multi-crore synthetic drug racket indicated Majithia’s involvement in the business.
One of the most powerful families in Punjab, which traces the lineage of a general in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Majithias joined politics in 2007 when they contested and won their first assembly election from Majithia. His elder sister Harsimrat Badal (brother-in-law Sukhbir Badal was then MP from Faridkot) campaigned for him from door to door.
Shortly after, the 31-year-old, who has a business management degree from Delhi St. Stephen’s College, was installed as a cabinet minister in the Parkash Singh Badal government, arguably the youngest member of the Akali.BJP A ministry dominated by giants.
Bikram Singh Majithia is a former minister of Shiromani Akali Dal and brother-in-law of its party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. (file photo)
In the assembly, he would lead the party’s charge against the opposition, with wit, criticism and some muscle power. When it comes to giving a scathing reply to the opposition, the party can count on him, as he faced everyone, including a jittery one when Navjot Singh Sidhu joined the Congress.
In Amritsar, where he has a home, acquaintances call him a deeply spiritual person who enjoys reading and can discuss any topic. He is also known as a teetotaler and vegetarian. Sukhbir Badal once laughed and said, “His dogs are also vegetarians.”
It was not long before the murmurs began that Yuva Akali Dal president Majithia would one day overtake Sukhbir. People pointed to his sacred lineage – his great-grandfather was the founding president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in 1920; The family bought its first aircraft in 1935; His grandfather was the deputy defense minister in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet from 1957 to 1962, and his father Satyajit Singh not only ran a business empire spanning Delhi, UP and Punjab, but also presided over the Khalsa College in Amritsar, which his ancestors had known. helped to establish in 1892. It was a powerful mix of cult and
Property.
With his elder brother Gurmehar, the Saraya Group of Industries named after the family estate in UP’s Gorakhpur district, Majithia focused on politics, moving out of the old school politics of Akali vice-chancellor and five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. – Attended every wedding and bhog ceremony of his workers, a practice that continues even today.
His marriage to Ganiway Grewal, the daughter of a Delhi-based industrialist, in 2009 was a lavish affair, dazzling Chandigarh with nine different types of international cuisine – including Majithia’s personal favorite, Italian – and many NRIs. In those days, the Akali government was trying to woo NRI investment with annual meetings, and Majithia was the self-appointed hospitality in-charge.
Along the way, he also made many enemies, some within the party, who disliked his strong style, obstinate speeches and his fleet of muscle cars – an ardent rallyist, he was a regular in the Himalayan circuit. In 2010, the Akali government claimed that he was receiving threats from anti-national elements abroad, and the UPA government at the Center gave him Z-plus security. No one bothered to find out why he was in danger. But in the cult of politicians of post-terrorism Punjab, where your security details defined your pecking order, Majithia had come.
After winning the election in 2012, it became increasingly clear: You cannot mess with Majithia or Majhe da Jarnail (General of Majha), as his people called him with equal admiration and fear.
There was talk that Badal Sr. was unhappy with the youth who had joined the Akali Dal after his sister’s marriage to Sukhbir.
“Ask him (Majithia) if he has ever been to jail. He got everything in the plate, I have spent 17 years in jails.” It was clearly a light-hearted moment and the audience laughed as Badal recounted how Majithia was fighting for the seat of power, But the barbs were infallible.
There was shock and secret glee when the alleged drug dealer Bhola pointed a finger at Majithia. But the allegations did not seem to last as a strong leader of BJP. Arun Jaitley, pitted against Capt Amarinder Singh In the 2014 parliamentary elections from Amritsar, chose him as their campaign manager. Although Amarinder repeatedly raised drug charges and won, Jaitley garnered more votes than him in the areas falling under Majithia’s assembly seat.
During this election, Majithia also had a dispute with the Sikh clergy, who accused him of distorting a hymn of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, in favor of Jaitley. Majithia subjected him to the punishment he received, and cleaned utensils in the Golden Temple.
Both the Congress and AAP had targeted Majithia in the 2017 assembly elections, fought on the twin issues of drugs and sacrilege. Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann used to go from village to village teasing him in a popular song “Kikli Kaleer Di” as someone who can “get you what you want” by suggesting drugs. In election rallies, both the parties promised to put him behind bars if voted to power. While the Akalis posted their worst electoral result in history with only 15 seats, Majithia managed to retain one of the only two seats the Akalis won in their former stronghold Majha.
As soon as the Congress came to power, Majithia fought and won a defamation case against political leaders for smuggling drugs. His influence in the state continued despite the change of power, with Congress MLAs complaining that former CM Amarinder had links with the Akalis.
The Channi government is basing the December 20 case largely on a status report on drug charges against politicians and policemen, submitted in February 2018 to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in its war on drugs. Was a big win and a fitting close. To all families who suffer from substance abuse.
But Majithia’s close aides say he will fight it in court. “He will answer every charge, he will prove his innocence. the game has only just begun.”
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