A day after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann dismissed health minister Dr. Vijay Singla on graft charges, Bharatiya Janata Party’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh, on Wednesday, termed the move as “a drama for political gains”.
Dr. Singla was accused of seeking a 1 percent commission on the tenders floated by the department headed by him. He was later arrested by the anti-corruption cell of the Punjab Police and sent to three-day police remand by a court in Mohali. An FIR number 65 under Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against Singla.
In his reaction to the development, Chugh alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government in Punjab has enacted a drama for political gains in view of elections expected to take place in Punjab. He also described the move as an effort of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to divert the public attention from the failure of the AAP Government to deliver.
Advising Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal to stop “shedding crocodile’s tears” over the arrest of the former health minister, the BJP leader said that the AAP chief was sending a message to everybody in the AAP that the road to Chandigarh is via Delhi.
Chugh sought to know if Kejriwal had tested the credentials of the entire Cabinet in Punjab or appointed them randomly. Taking a dig at the chief minister, he asked if Kejriwal was shedding tears simply because the former health minister Singla did not take him into confidence before indulging in the corruption.
The BJP leader demanded that the entire corruption case should be made public.