Punjab Harsimrat ties 'rakhi' to Majithia in Nabha jail

Chandigarh, Aug 9 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal MP and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday tied a 'rakhi' to her brother and Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who is lodged in Nabha jail, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
     Harsimrat earlier said when she came to Nabha jail to tie the 'rakhi' to her brother, she was not allowed to meet him by the jail administration allegedly at the behest of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
     "They (jail authorities) refused to open the gate and my vehicles were not allowed," she said while speaking to reporters in Patiala's Nabha.
     She said on Raksha Bandhan, every sister has a right to meet her brother.
     Harsimrat said that she had been trying to get permission to observe Raksha Bandhan with Majithia for the last four days but to no avail.
     However, she was allowed to meet Majithia to tie a 'rakhi' later by the jail authorities.
     Replying to a question on meeting her brother, Harsimrat said Majithia was in 'chardi kala' (in a state of high-spirits).
     "His message to his supporters that he was in 'chardi kala'," said Harsimrat.
     She said Majithia was targeted and "false" cases were registered against him as he was "exposing" the AAP government over several issues.
     "The AAP government is rattled. They have nothing against Majithia," she said.
     She said that she had been seeking permission to meet Majithia for the past one and a half months but she was denied.
     The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had arrested Majithia on June 25 in a disproportionate assets case allegedly involving laundering of Rs 540 crore of "drug money".
     Majithia was presently in judicial custody till August 14.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)