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Last Update: January 07, 2023, 13:42 IST
A few days after the audio clip surfaced, Fauja Singh Sarari was issued a show cause notice by the Aam Aadmi Party. (Photo: Twitter/@fauja_sarari)
In the clip, Punjab’s Food Processing and Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh Sarari was allegedly heard discussing a plan to trap contractors hired to transport foodgrains to extort money from them.
Nearly three months after finding himself in the middle of a controversy over a viral clip about an alleged extortion scheme, Punjab’s Food Processing and Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh Sarari has resigned. Sarari submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The clip had surfaced in September last year in which the minister was heard discussing the extortion plan. The audio was allegedly leaked by his close aide-turned-foe Tarsem Lal Kapoor, who was allegedly angry with the minister for not defending his close relative in a police case.
A few days after the audio clip surfaced, Sarai was issued a show cause notice by the Aam Aadmi Party. He had said that the clip was doctored and he was being “framed”.
In the clip, Fauja Singh Sarairi can be heard discussing a plan to trap the contractors hired to transport food grains for allegedly extorting money from them. Voices on the tape can be heard saying that the DRO copy should be sought from the contractors after their trucks are half loaded.
The issue had created a huge controversy with both the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal targeting the Bhagwant Mann government. This had caused embarrassment for the AAP as it came close to the Gujarat elections.
Reacting to Sarari’s resignation, Leader of the Opposition Pratap Bajwa said, “It is a victory for the people of Punjab.” The way the Bhagwant Mann government is taking action against the leaders of the opposition parties, they should treat their ministers in the same way.
Bajwa anticipated that more names would emerge from the controversy.
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