Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla was sacked from the state Cabinet on Tuesday and arrested on the charges of corruption. His sacking has come barely two months after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took charge of Punjab after a stunning victory in Assembly elections.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann himself announced the removal of Singla from the Cabinet and directed the Punjab Police to register a case against him, following which he was arrested.
What are the charges against Singla?
Vijay Singla, who is a dental surgeon and an MLA from Mansa seat, was found demanding one per cent commission in tenders and purchases of his department. He even admitted to it after being caught, said CM Mann.
While announcing his removal, Mann said, “I will not tolerate corruption of a single rupee. We want to turn Punjab into a corruption-free state.”
The Punjab chief minister said some parties will now point out that one of the AAP ministers was found involved in corruption within just two months, but then “it is I who is taking action”.
How Singla was trapped?
Bhagwant Mann said a case of corruption was brought to his notice and he took the case very seriously. “Only I knew this case. Neither media nor opposition knew it,” Mann said in a video message.
According to sources, an officer approached Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann and revealed how corruption was being carried out by Vijay Singla.
The officer recorded Singla demanding bribes to clear orders and presented it to the chief minister, who in turn ordered his removal and arrest.
“I am taking strict action against that minister and I am removing him from the cabinet. I am also giving directions to the police to register a case against him,” Mann said, adding, “That minister’s name is Vijay Singla. He was the health minister.”
It should be noted that 52-year-old Singla was elected MLA from the Mansa seat. He had defeated Punjabi singer and Congress candidate Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also called Sidhu Moosewala.
The Aam Aadmi Party had bagged 92 of the 117 seats in Punjab, decimating the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party combine, and the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress-SAD (Sanyukt) alliance in the 2022 state assembly polls.
