Punjab Congress on Monday urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to order an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged embezzlement of Central funds in book scam.
Main Opposition party in the State also demanded Maluka’s resignation for an impartial and fair investigation.
“Stung by scam after scam in his department and having failed to give any satisfactory defense, Maluka has offered a third party independent inquiry for the truth to emerge. Thus, the Congress party now demands from the Chief Minister that it is highly imperative for him to order a CBI inquiry into the embezzlement charges as these involve central grants of SSA and RMSA,” said Punjab Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Khaira launching a scathing attack on Maluka.
Terming Maluka as “scandal ka sikandar”, Khaira said that he has thrown all decent norms and procedures to the winds and indulged in gross favoritism while allotting tenders worth crores of rupees of central grants.
“It is also shameful and surprising how his daughter-in-law, Paramjit Kaur — a district development and panchayat officer (DDPO) — has been appointed additional director general of school education flouting norms,” Khaira pointed.
Dubbing the scam as mere “a tip of an iceberg”, leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Sunil Kumar Jakhar demanded the CBI inquiry. “Scrutiny by independent agency of centrally-funded SSA would disclose the big fish that ate the lion’s share into the entire funds provided by Union Human Resource Development Ministry,” he said.
He added that by deliberately avoiding CBI probe, “senior SAD leadership is escaping its leaders while State BJP leaders have become mute spectator in lieu to grab posts of various boards of Punjab”.