Punjab minister Vijay Singla sacked, arrested on corruption charges

Chandigarh, May 24: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday sacked Health Minister Vijay Singla from his cabinet on corruption charges. He was arrested on corruption charges with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asserting that his government has zero-tolerance towards corruption.

The chief minister took the decision after learning that the minister was allegedly demanding one percent commission for tenders.

Reportedly, Singla was demanding a 1 per cent commission from officials for contracts. Concrete evidence found against Singla.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha hailed the decision, claiming that his party is the only one with the integrity and courage to take action against their own leaders.

"Aam Aadmi Party is the only party that has the integrity, courage & uprightness to take action against their own on grounds of corruption. We saw it in Delhi, now we are witnessing it in Punjab.

ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION. Commendable decision by CM Bhagwant Mann", Raghav Chadha tweeted.

Police have been directed to register a case against him.

"A case was brought to my notice in which one minister in my government was demanding one per cent commission from each tender or purchase of his department. I took this case very seriously. Only I knew this case. Neither media nor opposition knew it," Mann said in a video message.

"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," he said, adding, "That minister's name is Vijay Singla. He was the health minister."

Mann said that Singla was allegedly involved in wrongdoings in his department and he has also admitted to the same.

Asserting that the AAP government has zero-tolerance towards corruption, Mann pointed out that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also removed his food and supplies minister in 2015 and handed over the case to the CBI.

"I will not tolerate corruption of a single rupee. We want to turn Punjab into a corruption-free state" Mann asserted. 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".

Vijay Singla, 52, was elected MLA from the Mansa seat. He had defeated Punjabi singer and Congress candidate Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also called Sidhu Moosewala. Singla is a dental surgeon.

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.