India, Sept. 16 -- Punjab cabinet minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal of conspiring to falsely implicate him in the case involving the death of a Dalit daily wager by suicide in Sangrur district.

In his first reaction to the controversy, Cheema said he had sufficient evidence to counter the allegations but did not want to disclose it while the investigation is underway. "Let the investigation be completed. I will respond to each and every leader on this issue," he said in a terse response to a media query at a press conference here.

Cheema said the matter had reached the high court, which had asked how a minister could be named as an accused based ...