Congress, SAD demand Sarari's dismissal over leaked audio

Chandigarh, September 12

State Congress leaders today demanded immediate dismissal and arrest of Defence Services Welfare and Food Processing Minister Fauja Singh Sarari over a leaked audio, where he is purportedly heard to be allegedly planning to trap some contractors through officials to extort money from them.

PCC chief Amrinder Raja Warring and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa said: “They have not even completed six months and second minister has been caught indulging in corrupt practices. At this rate, in next two years we may see a dozen of their ministers landing in jail.”

Warring said earlier the government dismissed the Health Minister and jailed him over similar allegations. “This time the matter is already in the public domain with the minister’s audio clip and let us see what action the government takes,” he remarked.

Bajwa said once again the Chief Minister should lead by an example and ask Sarari to put in his papers till the inquiry about his audio clip was completed.

Meanwhile, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia demanded a CBI inquiry into Sarari’s alleged extortion tape.

Majithia said the minister was caught discussing a plan to trap some officials and extort money from them. “The OSD has stated on record that the audio tape is genuine and now it is up to the government to hand over the tape as well as the entire set of allegations against Sarari to the CBI so that they can be probed thoroughly.”

Demanding an explanation from the CM why no action had been taken against Sarari, Majithia said: “In case of Vijay Kumar Singla, the CM had asserted that he had seen a video, which indicted Singla and that this was why he was sacking him.” The SAD leader demanded immediate sacking of Sarari and registration of a criminal case against him as the audio clip was in the public domain.

Reacting to an audio clip, BJP leader Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, too, demanded that the CM should intervene in the matter and the clipping should be sent to a forensic lab to check its veracity. “The people had opted for the AAP with a great hope, but now they feel disappointed,” said Sodhi.