Last Update: February 23, 2023, 12:06 IST
Despite his checkered past, Ratan was given ticket by AAP to contest from Bathinda Rural seat last year. (Twitter @AmitKotfatta)
The Mann government was under pressure from the opposition to act against Amit Ratan after his close aide was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau following a complaint by the MLA demanding a bribe.
Less than a week after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Bathinda Rural Amit Ratan was arrested, the Vigilance Bureau on Thursday arrested him from near Karnal in Haryana following a complaint of corruption.
The complaint was lodged by the husband of the sarpanch of Ghudda village.
The Mann government was under pressure from the opposition to act against the MLA after his close aide was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau after the MLA complained of demanding bribe through him. The AAP government was under fire from opposition parties, who accused the government of shielding the MLA while only arresting his colleague.
Congress leader Harvinder Laddi had announced to protest outside the Bureau office on Thursday. The government was also apprehensive of protests by opposition parties over the issue in the House during the budget session.
Sources said that following the uproar, the chief minister had directed the bureau to continuously probe and investigate the MLA’s involvement. Sources claimed that Ratan’s voice samples were confirmed in the forensic examination of the audio recording, after which the CMO gave the nod for action against him.
Despite his checkered past, Ratan was given ticket by AAP to contest from Bathinda Rural seat last year. He was expelled from SAD for duping people in the name of getting them jobs.
SAD leader Daljit Cheema said the government tried to save its MLA but was forced to arrest him following pressure from various political parties. He demanded an independent inquiry against the MLA.
Meanwhile, Mann tweeted in Punjabi in a defiant response to the arrest: “Bribery by anyone, in any form, will not be tolerated. Law is equal for all.”
Amit Ratan is the second MLA of the party to be arrested on corruption charges after the then health minister Vijay Singla. Recently, the Chief Minister dropped Fauja Singh Sarari from the cabinet following corruption allegations against him.
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