New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday sacked Health & Family Welfare Minister Vijay Singla on corruption charges. The Punjab Health Minister was reportedly caught by agencies ‘taking commission’ while handing out contract. “I am taking strict action against the minister. I am removing him from the cabinet,” Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said in a video message. #Punjab :- Health Minister Vijay Singla charge has been taken by CM @BhagwantMann Dismissed from cabinet under corruption charges & inquiry is ordered. pic.twitter.com/A9VcGHaNv1 — Akashdeep Thind (@thind_akashdeep) May 24, 2022 An enquiry has also been ordered by the Chief Minister to investigate the case in detail. This is the Bhagwant Mann government’s first strict action of crackdown on graft and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s promises of zero tolerance on corruption. After Punjab govt formation, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had promised crackdown on corruption in the state and also sought people’s participation in 'cleansing' the system. However, this is not the first case of irregularity & impropriety, making the top AAP leadership uncomfortable. Within months of AAP government taking charge of the state, a couple of its legislators are facing the law for alleged malpractices. Yesterday, AAP MLA Balbir Singh was sentenced to 3-year jail term after convicting him in a criminal case. He however was granted bail on the spot but this indeed came as a blot on party’s reputation. Another AAP MLA Jaswant Singh is facing the heat of agencies over alleged bank fraud. The CBI sleuths conducted searches at his premises for ‘defrauding’ the bank while raising loan.
