AAP claims credit for Rana’s ouster

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday welcomes the resignation of power minister Rana Gurjit Singh from the state cabinet.

In a joint press release, AAP’s Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann, co-president Aman Arora, deputy Leader of Opposition Sarabjit Kaur Manuke, MLAs Nazar Singh Manshahiya, Jai Kishan Rodi, Master Baldev Singh and chief spokesperson Harjot Singh Bains said that the pressure of public and the party’s commitment to root out corruption resulted in droping of the minister from the cabinet. “The government should have held the sand mine auction in a transparent manner and stopped attempts to loot the exchequer,” they said, criticising the chief minister constituting a bogus commission to save the minister.

RANA’S EXIT: TOO LITTLE TOO LATE, REGISTER FIR, SAYS SAD

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday termed the acceptance of power and irrigation minister Rana Gurjit Singh’s resignation as “too little too late”.

In a statement, SAD spokesperson Daljit Cheema said the Congress could only wash the taint of the sand mining scam by registering FIR against Rana Gurjit and cancellation of all mines allotted to Congress legislators. He alleged that chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had turned a blind eye to the sand mining scam for 10 months.