Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said he removed Health Minister Vijay Singla from the state cabinet on charges of corruption. Soon after his removal, Singla was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
"I am taking strict action against the minister. I am removing him from the cabinet," the chief minister said in a video message. Police have been directed to register a case against him.
Singla was allegedly taking a one per cent commission on all tenders floated by Health and Family Welfare department.
The move follows after AAP had promised to crack down on corruption in Punjab.
In 2015, Kejriwal had sacked his food and civil supplies minister after a video of him seeking a bribe was shown to him.
Who is he?
Vijay Singla is an Indian politician and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing the Mansa Assembly constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
Singla was polled 1,00,023 votes, the highest by any candidate. He defeated singer Sidhu Moosewala from Mansa by a huge margin of 63,323 votes.
As a cabinet minister in the Mann ministry, Singla was given the charge of two departments of the Punjab Government:
Department of Health and Family Welfare and Department of Medical Education and Research
Singla was elected as the MLA in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. He represented the Mansa Assembly constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
A dentist by profession, Singla runs a dental clinic in the city. Singla joined AAP in 2015.
He was made the general secretary of the Punjab Beopar Mandal upon his induction into the party.
He is associated with the Rotary Club and the Environment Society and runs home planting campaigns to protect the environment from pollution.
(with sources inputs)
