हिंदी
(Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Pawan Tinu also demand the CBI probe started in the case should be made time bound)
Chandigarh, July 28 2021 The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded the immediate dismissal of Social Welfare minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot from the State cabinet besides registration of a criminal case against him as well as his arrest in the Scheduled Caste scholarship scam case.
Addressing a press conference here after a CBI probe was initiated against the minister following a complaint by the union ministry of social justice and empowerment, senior SAD leaders Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Pawan Kumar Tinu said a free and fair inquiry could not be held in the case as long as Dharamsot remained in the Punjab council of ministers. “The Punjab Social Welfare department has to submit the entire record of the case to the CBI and it cannot be expected to supply incriminating documents against its own minister. The minister should resign on moral grounds but since this is too much to expect from him chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh should dismiss Dharamsot forthwith”.
Giving details of the case, Mr Pawan Tinu said the SAD had been raising this case consistently and had even met the social justice minister Thawar Chand Gehlot to ensure a through probe into the Rs 64 crore SC scholarship scam which had been unmasked by the then Principal Secretary of the State Social Welfare department – Kirpa Shankar Saroj. He said even though the centre had taken ten months to decide on holding a CBI inquiry into the case, it should ensure speedy justice for lakhs of SC students whose future had been spoiled by Sadhu Singh Dharamsot. “The CBI inquiry should be made time bound”, he added.
Stating that Dharamsot had surpassed all known levels of corruption, Mr Tinu said the minister first took over the entire powers of the Directorate and deputed the same to a junior officer who was closely linked with him. “Following this Rs 39 crore received from the centre as SC scholarship was given to ghost institutions. This was not all. Rs 17 crore was given to institutions who owed Rs 7 crore to the government through a pick and choose policy”. He said besides this Rs 309 crore received from the centre as part of the SC scholarship was misappropriated and the CBI probe should probe this scam also.
Both Dr Cheema and Mr Tinu highlighted how the chief minister had given a clean chit to the tainted minister even before ordering any probe against him. “Following this the chief minister succeeded in reducing the scope of corruption from Rs 64 crore to Rs 7 crore through a tailor made inquiry by the chief secretary which has not been made public till now. This shows that Dharamsot has the blessings of the chief minister”, the leaders averred.
Senior Akali Leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema along with Akali Mla & SC Leader Pawan Tinu addressing a press conference on issue against Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot for his involvement in multi-crore Post Matric SC Scholarship scam in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
