Kullu: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday heaped praises on Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and said no other leader ever sent his own minister to jail for illegal activities. Kejriwal was referring to Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla who was sacked by the state cabinet and was later arrested on charges of corruption. Bhagwant Mann at the time said that his government would have zero tolerance against corruption and himself announced Singla’s removal from the council of ministers. Mann said the decision was made after he came to know that Singla was allegedly demanding one per cent commission in tenders and purchases of his department.
While addressing a rally in Himachal Pradesh, Kejriwal, whose party fights elections on the issue of corruption said, “Did you ever hear about a CM sending his minister to jail? Mann Sahab found out that his Health Minister was involved in unscrupulous activities. Opposition and media didn’t know. Had he wanted, he could’ve brushed it under carpet or asked for his share from the accused. But he sent him to jail.”
Adding that he and his party has vowed to eliminate corruption from India, Kejriwal further said, “We don’t know politics. We’re not here to do politics. Our journey started from the Anna Hazare movement and then we formed a party. We vowed to eliminate corruption from the country. First, we ended corruption in Delhi and then initiated it in Punjab.”
AAP is gearing up for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2022, which is scheduled to take place this year.
Earlier in April, the party suffered a setback after AAP Himachal Pradesh President Anup Kesari, the head of the party’s women wing in the state, Mamata Thakur quit the party along with other leaders and joined the BJP.
As part of its strategy to expand the electoral footprint in Himachal, the party also contested the local body polls in Shimla.
Bureau Report
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