Blaming Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka for losing his reputation as well as moral strength owing to scams hitting his department, Punjab Congress on Sunday assailed him for laying blame of the entire rip-off on the Director General School Education (DGSE).
“Maluka, who lost his reputation with the book scam, has now also lost his moral strength and started blaming DGSE for his own bluff,” said Punjab Pradesh congress committee (PPCC) general secretary Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa.
He said: “It is unethical on Maluka’s part to blame DGSE senior IAS officer Kahan Singh Pannu for the scam in a bid to save his daughter-in-law Parampal Kaur, additional DGSE, who held all the financial and administrative powers.”
“Maluka is making funny excuses that that he has brought his daughter-in-law on deputation from Rural Development and Panchayats department so that the entire family lives together in Chandigarh. In fact, her parent department has several posts lying vacant in Chandigarh,” added Bajwa.
Further, Bajwa also questioned Maluka for forcing the District Education Officers (DEOs) and school heads to rally behind him. “I appeal to the teachers not to follow the dictate of the Minister and maintain dignity of their profession,” he added.
Going ahead with holding Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal “equally responsible” for Maluka’s misdeeds, Bajwa said that along with Maluka, Chief Minister has also failed to exhibit moral values.“By shielding tainted minister, Badal is losing his prestige in the public. Earlier Animal Husbandry Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike was given clean chit in Border Area Development fund scam, and junior officials were sentenced.
Now once again, buck is being shifted on to junior officials of education department,” he added.
NSUI members seek Maluka’s dismissal from Cabinet
Chandigarh: Hundreds of students affiliated to National Students Union of India (NSUI) staged a march and held dharna against Punjab Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka at his residence in village Kansal on Sunday.
The protestors, led by NSUI Punjab unit president Daman Bajwa and national secretary Jaswinder Singh marched from Congress Bhawan in Sector-15 to village Kansal carrying banners and raising slogans against the disgraced education minister for his involvement in the book scam.
Daman Bajwa demanded Maluka’s dismissal from the Cabinet and demanded a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him. “The book scam is a blot on the face of SAD-BJP Government, and Maluka can’t escape the responsibility of supplying books with vulgar content to school children. National heroes like Pt Jawahar lal Nehru were denigrated by the him,” she added.
Asking Maluka to resign himself on ,oral grounds, Bajwa said that it was unfair on the part of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to support Maluka. She added that Minister’s daughter-in-law was fully responsible for the scam and must be suspended.