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Sarari quits Mann cabinet months after ‘extortion clip’ controversy
Four months after an audio clip purportedly suggesting an “extortion plan” surfaced, Punjab horticulture, food processing, and defence services welfare minister Fauja Singh Sarari on Saturday resigned from the Punjab cabinet.
Chandigarh Four months after an audio clip purportedly suggesting an “extortion plan” surfaced, Punjab horticulture, food processing, and defence services welfare minister Fauja Singh Sarari on Saturday resigned from the Punjab cabinet.
Sarari, who sent his resignation to chief minister Bhagwant Mann in the morning, was replaced with Patiala (Rural) MLA Dr Balbir Singh (66) in the evening in the second expansion of the state cabinet. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhawan here in the presence of a restricted gathering that included CM Mann, family members of the new inductee, and some senior officers.
An ophthalmologist, Singh has been allotted health and family welfare, medical education and research, and elections portfolios. “CM Mann and the party have given me a big responsibility. I will do my best to come up to their expectations,” the newly inducted minister said in his first reaction, listing mohalla clinics, steps to tackle drug addiction, and reforms in medical education as his top priorities.
Singh, the third medical professional in the state cabinet, has replaced Chetan Singh Jauramajra as the health and medical education minister. Jauramajra has been allocated the departments held by Sarari earlier.
Sarari, inducted into the state cabinet along with four others in the first expansion on July 4, 2022, was in the eye of the storm ever since the audio clip of a conversation purportedly between him and a close aide regarding a plan to allegedly trap some contractors engaged for foodgrain transportation with the help of government officials and allegedly “extort money”, went viral on social media in September last year.
The clip allegedly leaked by the controversial minister’s aide Tarsem Lal Kapoor had left the AAP government red-faced. Though the minister has repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming that the audio was “doctored” to frame him, his ouster from the cabinet was seen as inevitable in party circles. The CM was said to be cut up with Sarai and issued him a show-cause notice.
Even as the opposition parties targeted the chief minister for not acting against Sarari, AAP ministers and other leaders kept throwing hints from time to time about his impending exit. AAP’s state chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said the minister has resigned from his post citing ‘personal reasons’.
The cop-turned-politician, who represents Guru Har Sahai in Ferozepur district, is the second cabinet minister to lose his place in the Bhagwant Mann cabinet. In May 2022, Mann sacked his health minister Dr Vijay Singla over charges of corruption.
With the induction of Singh in place of Sarari, the number of ministers in the cabinet remains unchanged at 14. The constitutional cap allows 18 ministers, including the CM, which is 15% of the number of members of the state assembly, and still leaves Mann with three slots to fill.
Earlier, Mann congratulated Singh for the new assignment stating that the he has been serving the masses with missionary zeal. “The state government is already according the top priority to the health department. A hardcore professional like Dr Balbir will further take the department to its zenith,” he added.
