Punjab minister resigns after drug taint on son

Chandigarh, May 22 (IANS) Citing moral grounds following a recent controversy in which his son's name was associated with an alleged drugs racket, a senior minister in the Punjab government submitted his resignation Thursday.

Jails, Tourism and Culture Minister Swaran Singh Phillaur said he has submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in New Delhi following the recent controversy.

In a statement here, Phillaur said he was quitting on "moral grounds" while he also claimed that the allegations made against his family member were baseless and false.

Punjab Congress leaders, in March this year, claimed that the names of Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Phillaur's son had been taken by drugs racket kingpin Jagdish Bhola, who is in custody of Punjab Police, in the multi-million dollars synthetic drugs racket busted last year.

State Congress chief Pratap Singh Bajwa Thursday demanded that Majithia, brother-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal, be sacked from the Punjab government as his name also figured in the drugs racket controversy.

Senior Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira said Phillaur's resignation was a drama and farce enacted to save Majithia in the controversy.