AMRITSAR: Chief Minister Beant Singh is beset with allegations of corruption and misuse of authority by his Ministers as well as some of his men having links with militants. In addition a section within the Congress has demanded action against erring partymen to save the sagging image of the party.
Even though there are allegations of corruption against most Ministers the party is likely to pull up only those who have been exposed.
The first on the firing line would be State Transport Minister Jagir Singh who is charged with stealing electricity and being involved in the bus body fabrication scandal.
The Chief Minister will meet select Congressmen on November 11 to discuss the charges against Jagir Singh and other party functionaries.
Jagir Singh is said to have unreached the officials on the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) harbored links with militants and fabricated receipts of Rs 2.5 lakh for 250 buses purchased by the Punjab Road Transport Corporation for only Rs 1.5 lakh.
The orders placed with private fabricators is to the tune of Rs five crore including the alleged kickback. The PSEB has unofficially complained that Jagir Singh had been threatening board employees against reporting electricity theft by him.
The PSEB also lodged a complaint at the Khadoor Sahib police station but no action was taken against the Minister. The Station House officer was sent by the Minister to threaten the Electricity Board employees not to raise the matter again.
Recently State Irrigation and Power Minister Harcharan Singh Brar was issued a show cause notice for protesting against the proposed hike in power tariff in the agriculture sector This led to differences between Brar and Beant Singh and subsequent dissensions within the party. The Center had to intervene to resolve the conflict. While the Chief Minister is in the process of patching up with Brar he has been forced to take note of the activities of other Ministers and contemplate action.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 20, 1992
