'Tears in my eyes': Kejriwal proud of Punjab CM Mann for sacking cabinet minister over corruption

"Proud of you Bhagwant. Your action has brought tears to my eyes. Whole nation today feels proud of AAP," the Delhi CM, who was once in the forefront of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.

Published on: May 24, 2022, 15:50:05 IST

By HT News Desk

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday praised his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann for sacking his cabinet minister Vijay Singla on corruption charges. Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal said Mann's action "brought tears” to his eyes.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (PTI)

"Proud of you Bhagwant. Your action has brought tears to my eyes. Whole nation today feels proud of AAP," the Delhi CM, who was once in the forefront of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.

Singla, now arrested by the vigilance bureau, was shunted out as the health minister from the state cabinet earlier in the day for allegedly demanding one per cent commission for passing tenders. Announcing Singla’s removal on Twitter, Mann said his government has zero tolerance for corruption.

Mann further said he had confronted Singla about the charges and the latter had admitted to wrongdoing.

"I will not tolerate corruption of a single rupee. We want to turn Punjab into a corruption-free state" Mann said in a video post on the micro-blogging site.

This comes just two months after the AAP came to power in Punjab after winning 92 seats in the 117-member Assembly. Singla was elected as a member of the legislative assembly (MLA) from the Mansa seat. He had defeated Punjabi singer and Congress candidate Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known as Sidhu Moosewala.

This is the second such incident when the AAP has sacked their own minister for charges related to corruption. In 2015, Kejriwal had sacked his food supplies minister Asim Ahmed for allegedly being involved in such activities.

In his video message, Mann cited the 2015 incident as an example and said, "People have formed the government of Aam Aadmi Party with great expectations, and it is our duty to live up to that expectation."

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HT News Desk
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