In an unprecedented move on Wednesday (Sep 10), the state Assembly of Punjab expelled former Chief Minister of the state Captain Amarinder Singh on graft corruption charges of indulging in a multi-crore land deal in the outskirts of Amritsar.
Indicted by a House committee, his membership has been banned for three-and-half years of the remaining tenure in this 13th Lok Sabha (Assembly) house and his seat has been declared vacant for by-election, as per report.
According to sources, Speaker of Punjab assembly, Nirmal Singh Kahlon after approval of members of houses, directed the former Chief Minister to immediately leave the assembly house as his membership was being abandoned.
Capt. Singh, already facing the corruption charges, was being charged by a nine-member committee report, which had been constituted during Congress regime. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tikshan Sud had recommended to unseat him. The Speaker has also informed the Chief Secretary the Election Commission to declare his seat vacant.
Responding on this move of assembly house, Amarinder said that it was a political vendetta by his opposition party leaders as during his regime, present Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, the president of Akali Dal were sent to jail on the court order in the graft charges of corruption and now when the power is in their favour, they are attacking on me. “I will challenge this on the court,” said Capt Singh.
In response to Amarinder, Sukhbir Singh said that Akali Dal-BJP led government was nothing to do with this case as his own party member had raised the case and it was congress which had set up the enquiry committee. Now, the committee has submitted its report alleging him to indulge with the 32.10-acre invalid land deal, which he had illicitly granted to property developers as being the CM of the state. Now, the case would go to the vigilance bureau and it would take further action, not the party.
The enquiry committee has also indicted two other former ministers, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and the late Ragunath Sahai Puri, and one officer of Amritsar Improvement Trust Jugal Kishore Sharma, the Chairman of the trust for allegedly involvement of 32.10-acre land deal of worth Rs.360-crore, which was illegally granting exemption to private developers of Amritsar that cause hefty loss to the state.
This 32.10-acre land was the part of 188-acre low-cost development scheme that was being developed at the outskirt of Amritsar for backward class society.
Meanwhile as per latest report, the former chief minister has filed petition against the expulsion in the High Court.
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