Akali Dal demands Randhawa’s dismissal from Punjab cabinet

CHANDIGARH : The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday asked Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to dismiss his cabinet colleague Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in the wake of registration of a cheating case against his personal assistant (PA), saying the minister should not be absolved of corrupt activities in his office.

In a press statement, SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said the involvement of Randhawa’s

PA in a fraud involving delivery of sugar worth Rs 74 lakh for which only Rs 57 lakh was paid had come to light.

“Even the high court while hearing the case asked the bureau of investigation to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe how the accused indulged in this and as incidents of cheating repeatedly. The high court has also asked the government to explain a why the minister’s PA, who is stated to be the mastermind of fraud, has not been arrested so far,” he said.

Randhawa hit back at the SAD allegations, saying he was ready to face any probe related to his former private secretary (secretariat staff) Bachittar Singh.

In a press statement, he said the Akalis were indulging in cheap theatrics for want of any issues against him and were misleading people. “Cheema, formerly a minister himself, forgot that Bachittar as part of ministerial staff was attached with me in capacity of a minister and was not my personal staff. As a fact of matter, I got him transferred from my staff on March 3 this year,” he added.