Bring Maluka to book, no rest until he resigns: Bajwa to CM

Sunday, 26/05/2013

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CHANDIGARH: Demanding a CBI investigation into the book scam in the state education department, Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday asked chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to remove education minister Sikandar Singh Maluka from the cabinet.

Bajwa said Maluka should resign in the interest of a fair inquiry, for which he wanted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to step in. At a press conference here, Bajwa said the book scam involved the misappropriation of about R9.5 crore from the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan money.

‘SECOND SCAM WHERE MINISTER IS INVOLVED’
He said Maluka was earlier involved in a scam in the supply of practical books and, in that case as well, students were forced to buy the stuff from particular dealers. It was shocking that a pipe manufacturer was given the contract to publish exercise books, said Bajwa.

The state Congress president said books with vulgar content and derogatory remarks against national leaders and the present CM had made it to schools. Bajwa said that the Punjab Congress would picket the official residence of Maluka and hold a demonstration against him. “We will not let the state government bury the issue, and will take it to the logical end,” said Bajwa.

‘ R1,600 CRORE SIPHONED OFF’
A Congress delegation of parliamentarians and legislators will meet the union human resource development (HRD) minister and bring to his notice the misuse of the Centre’s funds. He said the state government had parked R3,500 crore in the bank accounts of its corporations and boards to skip audit. “A comptroller and auditor general (CAG) report suggests that R1,600 crore of these funds had been siphoned off,” Bajwa added.

The leader said Badal was to blame for the corrupt practices of his ministers, to whom he gave clean chit every time. He said the Congress had no faith in the Punjab vigilance department that earlier had absolved Akali cabinet minister Gulzar Singh Ranike of the charge of embezzling border-area development grants.

Badal was on the wrong track, said Bajwa. “The man who started his political career as sarpanch of his village has lost all respect for democratic values,” he added. “Whatever he does at the instance of his son, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, will cost him dear.”

BAJWA TO PROTEST IN BADAL CONSTITUENCY
On Monday, Bajwa will lead a delegation of the party’s MPs and MLAs to Manna village near the CM’s native place, Badal, in Lambi assembly constituency. At Manna, Punjab Police had registered criminal cases against 150 people who had protested against booth capturing allegedly by Akali goons led by Bobby Badal, a relative of the CM.