Capt orders judicial probe but says minister Rana won’t quit AAP REJECTS PROBE PANEL, TO HOLD DHARNA

Justice JS Narang (retd) to conduct inquiry and submit report within one month; power minister says he has full faith in the judicial process

CHANDIGARH Plunged into a crisis barely two months after coming to power and before its first budget session in June, the Captain Amarinder Singh government finally gave in to pressure mounting from within the party and outside —Aam Aadmi Party and the SAD-BJP — by ordering a one-man judicial commission to probe the allegations of “benami” bids against irrigation and power minister Rana Gurjit Singh in the sand mining auctions held recently.

The inquiry would be conducted by justice JS Narang (retd), who would submit his report within a month. Though the minister, who met Amarinder at his residence on Monday, offered to resign in order to ensure a “free and fair” investigation, the CM asked him to continue till the outcome of the probe.

The pressure to act against Rana was mounting from within the Congress too with state Congress president Sunil Jakhar admitting that the party’s “zero tolerance to corruption” slogan had been dented by the charges. “The Congress had promised clean governance and we stay committed to it. The CM has reinforced this message by ordering a probe,” Jakhar said.

Congress vice-president

Rahul Gandhi too had been apprised of the matter by state affairs in-charge Asha Kumari and Harish Chaudhary.

The CM, in his statement said, though the minister has denied any links of his company, Rana Sugars Limited, in the recent mine auctions, stating that neither his family or company has a direct or indirect stake in the business, a probe has been ordered in the “interest of ethics, propriety and transparency”.

Rana was quick to welcome the inquiry and said he has full faith in the judicial process and expressed confidence that he will come out clean.

The minister had earlier run into controversy over his firm selling power to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), which falls under his ministry, but had escaped scrutiny by claiming that the agreement was entered into during the previous SAD-BJP government.

One of the “blue-eyed” ministers of Amarinder, Rana is known for hosting him. But with his mining stakes raising a storm, the CM decided not to let him become the proverbial millstone around his neck.

Resentment was also brewing over Amarinder’s silence among Congress legislators and leaders.

But many wannabe ministers chose the “wait-and- watch” line as the cabinet expansion is due before the budget session. With a stellar tally of 77 MLAs, Amarinder has kept the carrot of ministerial berths dangling by swearing in just nine ministers into his cabinet when he took over as CM on March 16. CHANDIGARH: Rejecting the judicial commission set up by the Punjab government to look into charges of impropriety against power minister Rana Gurjit Singh, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Khaira has decided to hold a dharna outside the chief minister’s residence in Chandigarh on Tuesday.

Khaira said the belated inquiry ordered by CM Amarinder Singh into the mining scandal appears to be a tailor made exercise to absolve power minister Rana Gurjit Singh. “If Rana Gurjit continues to be a member of the cabinet, the inquiry can never be free, fair and impartial. The minister must resign forthwith or be dismissed from the cabinet pending inquiry or else the entire exercise would appear to be meaningless and a farce,” he said in a statement.

Khaira had, earlier in the day, demanded the minister’s dismissal and an impartial timebound inquiry into the alleged mining scam, threatening to hold a protest if no action was taken.

After the state government announced the judicial inquiry into charges against the minister, he rejected the commission and decided to go ahead with the dharna threat.