Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla was on Tuesday arrested by the anti-corruption branch hours after he was sacked from the state Cabinet by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on charges of corruption. Mann decided to dismiss Singla after he received corruption complaints against the minister. The Chief Minister had reportedly found 'solid evidence' against the Minister.
Singla’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Pardeep Kumar was also arrested, and both were presented before the court of Ravtesh Inderjit Singh in Mohali under heavy security, which sent them to three-day police remand.
The decision is in line with the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) 'anti-corruption' model'. Singla was allegedly demanding a 1 per cent commission on contracts from officers.
"Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann sacks state's Health Minister Vijay Singla following complaints of corruption against him. He was demanding a 1% commission from officials for contracts. Concrete evidence found against Singla," the Chief Minister's Office said.
"Even 1% corruption will not be tolerated," Mann said as he sacked Singla. "People have formed the government of Aam Aadmi Party with great expectations, it is our duty to live up to that expectation," he added.
This is the second time a minister was sacked on corruption charges. In the year 2015, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had sacked one of his ministers in a corruption case.
"Arvind Kejriwal Ji had taken a promise that we will uproot the system of corruption, we are all his soldiers," Mann said.
The Aam Aadmi Party stormed to power in Punjab by winning 92 of the 117 seats in the Assembly elections held earlier this year. AAP's government in Punjab is the party's first government outside Delhi since its inception in 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal.
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