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Randhawa seeks officials’ removal over Saini fiasco
After the Punjab and Haryana high court ordered release of former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini in a land fraud case, jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Friday demanded removal of advocate general Atul Nanda, home secretary Anurag Agarwal and Vigilance Bureau chief director BK Uppal for their “professional incompetence”
After the Punjab and Haryana high court ordered release of former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini in a land fraud case, jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Friday demanded removal of advocate general Atul Nanda, home secretary Anurag Agarwal and Vigilance Bureau chief director BK Uppal for their “professional incompetence”.
The cabinet minister’s scathing remark drew a sharp reaction from chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who asked his ministers and party colleagues to “check facts” before making any statement, especially on sensitive issues.
The high court had on Thursday night ordered release of Saini in just over 24 hours after he was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau.
“In view of the fiasco in Sumedh Singh Saini case, I urge chief minister @capt_amarinder to immediately remove Advocate General, Home Secretary and Chief Director Vigilance, for their professional incompetence,” Randhawa said in a tweet, tagging former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party’s Punjab chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The minister’s comment was re-tweeted by MLAs Raja Warring and Kulbir Singh Zira.
Reacting to the minister’s comment, Amarinder asked the ministers to discuss issues with him or at the party platform before going public. “I advise all cabinet & party colleagues to check facts before issuing statements. I suggest they should discuss all issues, especially sensitive ones, either with me or on @INCPunjab platform before going public,” the CM said in a tweet posted by his media adviser.
Saini was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau when he had gone to its office on Wednesday night to join investigation in a corruption case as directed by the high court. A single bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi pronounced the release order on Thursday night. Saini was released from vigilance custody at 2am on Friday.
Randhawa has been critical of the chief minister and the state government over unfulfilled poll promises, particularly the alleged delay in action in the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases. He is among the senior ministers who backed Sidhu in his tussle with the chief minister.
