Chandigarh: Following a purported audio clip of Food Processing, Horticulture and Defence Services Welfare Minister Fauja Singh Sarari for negotiating extortion money with his close aide went viral on social media, Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to immediately sack his minister from the cabinet.
Bajwa also sought an inquiry from the Punjab government into an audio clip that went viral on Sunday in which cabinet minister Sarari was purportedly heard negotiating a money deal through one of his close aides.
In a tweet Bajwa said, “Bhagwant Mann must sack Fauja Singh Sarari from his cabinet & order an independent probe into the leaked audio clip in which the cabinet minister is heard allegedly fixing a money deal.This case is no different from Dr. Vijay Singla. Let’s see if CM leads by example this time too.”
He said that according to some media reports, Sarari has admitted that the voice in the audio clip is his but he claimed that the conversation was tampered. Therefore, it is significant to order the inquiry to ascertain the veracity and authenticity of the audio clip and to get to the bottom of the issue to know if the cabinet minister was trying to negotiate a money deal, the Congress leader said.
Bajwa said a fair and independent probe into the audio clip would be possible only if the cabinet minister either voluntarily resigns or Bhagwant Mann asks him to resign.
“Bhagwant Mann should not forget that on May 25, he met his own Health Minister Dr. Vijay Singla and later sacked him claiming in a video message that he was found to be involved in corruption over the phone. Rather, Dr. Singla was also arrested on charges.
Bajwa said Bhagwant Mann should once again give an example and sack Sarari till the completion of the inquiry into his audio clip. He said that if no inquiry is conducted by the Punjab government, it would mean double standards of Bhagwant Mann. Further, if Sarari continues to hold the cabinet post, he may influence the complainants as well as the witnesses in the case who want to come forward to shed more light on the facts of the audio clip, he added.