Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry will depute an officer of the rank of Chief Secretary or even senior to probe the SC scholarship scam in Punjab. Besides, the Ministry has also assured to conduct an audit of Rs 1,056 crore sent to the Punjab Government for disbursement as scholarship to Dalit students.
The information was shared by a delegation of senior SAD leaders and legislators after submitting a memorandum to the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot in Delhi on Tuesday.
The delegation maintained that the Minister had given them the assurances after learning that the Punjab Government had entrusted the inquiry into the scam to the State Chief Secretary.
The delegation added that the Minister also assured to consider recommending a CBI inquiry into the entire issue.
The delegation also handed over the report of the State Additional Chief Secretary who blew the lid off the scam and has accused Punjab SC Welfare Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot with presiding over an `63 crore scam besides other irregularities. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash was also present on the occasion.
SAD delegation, led by former Minister and party SC wing president Gulzar Singh Ranike, informed the Minister that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh could not be expected to ensure a free and fair inquiry into the scam as “he has become party to protecting and shielding the tainted minister”.
“Chief Minister has already given a clean chit to Dharamsot, who as his “yes man” and belonged to Patiala district, by asserting no irregularities had been committed by the latter.
This has made the probe by the Chief Secretary infructuous besides demoralizing the entire bureaucracy which has been given a clear cut signal not to report corruption in their departments,” said Ranike.
ANOTHER ATTACK ON FEDERAL POLITY: CM
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday took strong exception to an inquiry being ordered into the alleged scholarship scam by the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment without consulting the State Government or waiting for the report of Chief Secretary’s investigation into the matter.
Reacting to the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash’s claims that a departmental inquiry had been ordered, the Chief Minister said: “If true, the move is yet another attack on the federal structure of the Indian Constitutional polity…
The move is clearly aimed at eroding the State Government’s authority, as part of the BJP-led Central Government’s agenda to undermine the governments in all non-BJP ruled states.”
“But my Government will not succumb to such petty and motivated pressures by the BJP or any of its alliance partners, including the Shiromani Akali Dal,” he asserted.
He pointed out that the alleged scam into which the said inquiry has been ordered, in fact, took place in 2015-2017 period, under the erstwhile SAD-BJP regime. “If the intent behind the so-called Central Government departmental investigation is to cover up the BJP-SAD tracks in the case, it would not succeed,” he said.