A day ahead of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Session, the opposition parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Thursday demanded the dismissal and registration of a criminal case against the state SC/BC Welfare Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot for his involvement in an alleged Rs 63.91 crore SC Scholarship scam by the department’s Principal Secretary.
Demanding an independent probe into the scam, Akali Dal has declared that it can even move the High Court if needed, and the next course of action would be decided in the party’s core committee meeting.
AAP, on the other hand, demanded a time-bound probe into multi-crore scam under watch of sitting High Court judge.
“Dharamsot has played with the future of the state’s dalit children which could not be tolerated at any cost. In case, the Chief Minister does not dismiss him immediately and take necessary steps to recover the money looted from the State exchequer, SAD will be constrained to launch an agitation on this issue,” said senior SAD leaders — Bikram Singh Majithia and Pawan Kumar Tinu.
Majithia and Tinu said that it was shocking that Dharamsot had been found guilty of disbursing Rs 39 crore received from the Centre on account of scholarship for SC students to ineligible private institutions. “The report, which has been prepared by Principal Secretary Kripa Shankar Saroj, also detailed how Rs 24.91 crore from the same central fund meant for SC students, was given to private institutions following an illegal re-audit,” they added.
They pointed that the Minister signed files by hand bypassing departmental procedures and even objections by the Principal Secretary were removed from the file. “The senior bureaucrat has indicted the Minister along with a Deputy Director in the case, who was suspended last year also in connection with anomalies in the disbursement of SC scholarship but his suspension was revoked at the instance of Dharamsot,” they added.
At the same time, AAP has demanded immediate dismissal and arrest of the accused in a criminal case, besides a time-bound probe into the post-matric scholarship scheme scams so far under the watch of a sitting High Court judge.
Vidhan Sabha Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema said that Dharamsot should have been sacked from the Cabinet and arrested by now on the basis of the investigation report submitted by the Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Secretary Punjab, adding the State Government was trying to save the Minister and the entire gang, who are openly usurping the scholarships of the deserving students belonging to the Dalit families.
“If the Amarinder Singh government is serious about fighting corruption and about the future of the deserving and needy students belonging to dalits families, a corrupt Minister involved in a fresh multi-crore scam should have been behind the bars. The facts, documents, and irregularities and arbitrariness figured in the report are enough to take action against Dharamsot and his gang,” he said.
Cheema said that billions of rupees had already been squandered away in the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme since the time of the Badal regime, adding it was continuing unabated during the current regime.
AAP leader said that if despite all the evidences and documents on record, Minister Dharamsot was not immediately sacked and sent behind the bars, it would presumed the share of ‘booty’ went to the Siswan Farmhouse as well. “If the government failed to take any action against the errant Minister, AAP would ‘gherao’ the farmhouse till the time the guilty is not brought to justice,” he added.
MINISTER REJECTS ALLEGATIONS AS CONCOCTED, SAYS READY TO FACE ANY ENQUIRY AND ACTION IF FOUND GUILTY
Rejecting the allegations as “grossly absurd and unfounded”, Punjab Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Sadhu Singh Dharmsot on Thursday categorically said that he was willing to face any enquiry and action even if an iota of truth is found in allegations.
Reacting strongly to reports regarding mismanagement in Post Matric Scholarship Funds in some sections of media, Dharamsot said that the charges were outrightly malicious, absurd and were politically motivated.
“There are some vested interests who cannot digest the fact that our SC students are getting good facilities and education during Congress Government,” said the Minister, terming it as conspiracy to cast aspersion on the State Government's efficient working.
The vicious attempts are a ploy to ensure the scheme gets stalled and our students don't get quality education, he added.
Reiterating his personal commitment to ensure upliftment of SC students, Dharamsot said that what the present State Government has been doing for underprivileged students has been unparallel.
Pointing out that it has been Punjab Government who has been continuously fighting with the Centre to get the scholarship amount on time, he said that even today, Rs 1550 crore is being withheld by the Centre for which I have been daily taking up the issue.