Days after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had issued a notice to Cabinet Minister Fauja Singh Sarari over his alleged “extortion” audio clip, the CM on Thursday said , “Let him celebrate Diwali.”
Mann was talking to reporters informally, in his first interaction with the media seven months after taking over the reins of the state.
Responding to a question about action against Sarari, he said, “You celebrate Diwali and let him also celebrate Diwali.”
Punjab Minister for Food Processing and Horticulture Sarari was purportedly heard in an audio clip discussing a plan to trap some contractors hired for transportation of foodgrain to allegedly extort money from them. The clip had gone viral on September 11 after it was allegedly leaked by his officer on special duty (OSD) Tarsem Lal Kapoor, who was reportedly upset with the minister for not defending his relative in a police case.
On September 29, Mann had told the media that he had issued a notice to Sarari. But no action followed after that. The Opposition has started a campaign against him, but the CM has been observing a studied silence.
Sources in the government however indicate that the AAP was in no mood to act against the minister. “The ruling party wanted to convey a message to the Opposition that its campaign could not force the government to buckle under pressure from it. Also, Sarari’s ‘audio clip’ did not mean much. It was just a conversation. They had not gone anywhere to extort money. The money was not extorted. How does this nail the minister?” a senior functionary of the government asked.
He added that the government was concentrating on elections in Gujarat. It did not want to spend any energy sorting these issues here. “The Cabinet will continue like this. We will see what happens after the elections. Maybe they could rejig the Cabinet then. For now, there is no plan of the government to sack him.”
However, the Opposition is in no mood to let the issue rest. Congress has given a call for protest against the government for not taking action against Sarari. It will hold a dharna at Bhagat Singh’s native place Khatkar Kalan on Friday seeking action against the minister.
Sarari in an interaction with the media had called it a fake video. He had said, “Everything can be edited and presented in a wrong way. This audio too has been edited.”
The one-minute 40 seconds audio talks about catching the persons when half loading of foodgrain is done in trucks. It also says that a part of the commission should go to district food and civil supplies controller. Also, the truck driver shouldn’t be caught. Another voice which is said to be that of Tarsem Lal Kapoor says that one DRO copy is needed which is issued 15 days before loading of the material and it is difficult to get that copy. The voice at the other end says that “should we gherao on our own”? “No, why should you go?” comes the voice from the other end.
Sarari had also alleged that the ‘edited audio’ surfaced after an FIR was lodged against the nephew of his OSD, who was once very close and loyal to the minister.
