Chandigarh, May 24, 2022: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said he removed Health Minister Vijay Singla from the state cabinet on charges of corruption. Soon after his removal, Singla was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
"I’m taking strict action against that minister, sacking him from the cabinet and directing the police to register a case against him. That Minister is Vijay Singla. He had indulged in corruption in his department and also confessed to it. The AAP has a zero-tolerance policy against corruption," Mann said.
“I am taking strict action against the minister. I am removing him from the cabinet,” the chief minister said in a video message. Police have been directed to register a case against him.
अरविंद केजरीवाल के "भ्रष्टाचार विरोधी मॉडल" के तहत AAP सरकार की बड़ी कार्रवाई
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 24, 2022
🔹CM @BhagwantMann ने स्वास्थ्य मंत्री विजय सिंगला को किया बर्ख़ास्त
🔹अधिकारियों से ठेके पर 1 पर्सेंट कमीशन की मांग का लगा था आरोप
🔹AAP सरकार भ्रष्टाचार मुक्त भारत बनाने के लिए वचनबद्ध है pic.twitter.com/5HkaTU2Cxm
Bhagwant Mann said he took the decision after learning that the minister was allegedly demanding one per cent commission for tenders. Mann further claimed that Singla had admitted to wrongdoings.
Taking a dig at the previous government in the state, Mann said his predecessors had been shielding the corrupt. However, he said such practices would not be tolerated in Punjab now.
"A case had come to my knowledge about a minister of my govt who was demanding a 1 per cent commission for every tender. I took it very seriously. Nobody knew about it. Had I wanted, I could have brushed it under the carpet. But I would have broken the trust of people who trusted me," he said.
Courtesy: India Today