On January 7, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government’s cabinet minister Fauja Singh Sarari resigned from his post after alleged audio of extortion went viral on social media. He was the Minister of Food and Horticulture. Sarari is the second minister in Bhagwant Mann’s cabinet to resign since AAP came to power in the state ten months ago. Earlier, Vijay Singla was sacked over corruption charges. On the day Sarari resigned, Dr Balbir Singh took oath as a cabinet minister in the presence of Bhagwant Mann at Raj Bhawan, where the Governor of Punjab administered the oath.
At the time of his resignation, Sarari said he would remain a loyal soldier of AAP. His audio went viral in September 2022 when CM Mann was on a foreign tour. In the audio, it was claimed that Sarari was planning extortion from the contractors. When the audio was leaked, the opposition raised questions about the government and a show cause notice was issued by the Mann-led state government to Fauja Singh. It is unclear whether he has replied to the show cause notice.
When the audio went viral, Sarari claimed that the allegations against him were baseless. He also filed a complaint against the leaked audio and claimed it was a conspiracy against him. Though it is being said that he resigned in the aftermath of the leaked audio, Sarari claimed to have resigned for personal reasons.
Earlier, then-Health Minister of the AAP-led Punjab government Vijay Singla was sacked following allegations of corruption. He was accused of taking a commission to issue a tender by the department. He was sent to jail as well. Notably, Singla was only sacked from the cabinet but not from the party. AAP leaders are also facing corruption charges in Delhi. Delhi Government’s minister Satyendra Jain has been behind bars for several months in a money laundering case. The party has not accepted his resignation so far. There have been allegations of taking money for a ticket against AAP on several occasions. Furthermore, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia is also facing allegations of corruption in the Delhi Liquor Scam.