A major development took place in Punjab today as Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar tendered his resignation against the backdrop of suicide committed by a senior official of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) after levelling serious allegations against the minister.
Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar Resigns
Chandigarh: A major development took place in Punjab today as Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar tendered his resignation against the backdrop of suicide committed by a senior official of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) after levelling serious allegations against the minister.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann accepted the resignation of Bhullar who claimed that allegations against him were false and expressed readiness to face any investigation.
The Chief Minister, while accepting the resignation, said it was necessary to ensure impartiality of the ongoing investigation.
The chain of events began in Amritsar, where Randhawa, a District Manager of PSWC, ended his life by consuming Sulphas (aluminum phosphide) some weeks back. Just before committing suicide, Randhawa circulated a video on social media in which he purportedly leveled serious allegations against Bhullar.
According to reports, there was some dispute related to the allocation of land for a warehouse. A departmental team had deemed the proposed site unsafe due to the presence of high-voltage power lines and had subsequently rejected the application.
It is alleged that during a visit to Amritsar, the Minister put pressure on Randhawa to reverse this decision and verbally abused him. This reportedly caused deep distress to the officer who subsequently took the extreme step of allegedly ending his life.
Bhullar issued a statement in his defence via social media. He termed the allegations leveled against him as completely false and baseless and said he himself desires a thorough investigation into this matter so that the truth may be clearly distinguished from falsehood.
He appealed to the Chief Minister to accept his resignation immediately so that his official position does not exert any influence on the investigative process. He expressed his gratitude to the party and the government for granting him the opportunity to vindicate himself.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has described this incident as extremely distressing and tragic. While expressing his condolences to the family of the deceased officer, he stated that a culture of exerting undue pressure on officials would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
The CM stated, "We have accepted the Minister's resignation to ensure that the investigation—to be conducted under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary KAP Sinha—remains completely transparent. Any individual, regardless of how high a position they hold, will face strict legal action if found guilty."
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This incident has provided opposition parties with a major opportunity to launch an attack on the government. Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira and Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia have intensified their offensive against the government over this issue.
