Chandigarh: For nearly three decades now, Vijay Singla has been a prominent social worker in Punjab’s Mansa.
Described as a popular dental surgeon, he was associated with annual flower shows, healthcare camps, tree-plantation drives, and career counselling camps in Mansa, according to long-time acquaintances.
Occasionally, said one acquaintance, he attended events organised by the local unit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — until he joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
From joining the AAP in 2016 to becoming one of the 92 MLAs of the party on 10 March this year, when the party marked a thumping victory in Punjab, and eventually being inducted in the state cabinet as health minister, 52-year-old Singla has come a long way in his political career in a short time, his colleagues and acquaintances told ThePrint.
As health minister, Singla was allotted an office on the third floor of the Punjab Secretariat. On Wednesday, the office was vacant and his nameplate at the door was removed.
Senior officers in the secretariat told ThePrint that the nameplate was taken down Tuesday within an hour of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announcing through a video briefing that Singla had been sacked from the cabinet for alleged corruption.
The CM also directed the police to register a case against Singla and said the AAP government has a “zero-tolerance” policy towards graft.
Later Tuesday, Singla and his officer on special duty, Pradeep Kumar, who is also his nephew, were arrested. Singla has been accused of taking bribe and demanding a 1 per cent cut for government contract and departmental purchases.
AAP’s Punjab spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang said: “The CM would never put up with corrupt people at any cost because the AAP was born out of an anti-corruption movement (in 2012). People have high hopes from AAP in ending corruption in Punjab. The CM has sent a message of integrity.”
On Wednesday, ThePrint reached two of Singla’s relatives through phone calls for a comment on the allegations but they did not respond.
While being taken to court, which eventually sent Singla to three days’ police remand Tuesday, the former minister told the press from inside a vehicle: “It is a conspiracy to defame the Bhagwant Mann government in the state.”
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‘A clean image’
Singla was born in Bhupal village, located around 20 km from Mansa town, and pursued a dental degree from Punjabi University in Patiala. He became a dental surgeon in 1992, following which he, along with his family, moved to Mansa.
On 10 March, he won his first term as MLA, defeating Congress’ star candidate Sidhu Moose Wala from Mansa.
Several of Singla’s colleagues and acquaintances said they were yet to come to terms with the new developments.
“He is an easily accessible person. Even after becoming a minister, whenever he used to come to Mansa, he could be seen driving his scooter or meeting people during morning walks, without bodyguards surrounding him,” said Dharamveer Ahluwalia, a lawyer based in Mansa who is an old acquaintance of Singla.
Even though Singla was allotted a bungalow in Chandigarh after he became a minister, his family — parents and wife Anita, who is a homemaker — still live in Mansa. His son and daughter are currently pursuing medical studies in Chandigarh and Faridkot, respectively.
“For 30 years now, he (Singla) has been a popular face in the town. He is one of the main persons organising the annual flower show in Mansa and he frequently organised health camps, career counselling camps, etc,” said Ashok Sapolia, a former government officer based in Mansa and an old acquaintance of Singla.
“For a long time, he was associated with the RSS unit in the district. But he was not very ideologically associated with the group. His association mostly concerned the social work he did,” he added.
Since Singla joined the AAP in 2016, he has held several offices such as Beopar Mandal in-charge of the party in Mansa and Bathinda, said a senior Punjab-based AAP functionary, adding: “He has an exceptional social work record. And a clean image. The recent development has come as a major shock even within the party.”
Senior AAP leaders in Punjab who spoke with ThePrint on the condition of anonymity also said Singla had a clean image and that is why he was given a ticket ahead of the 2022 state polls in the first place.
While two junior doctors have been running Singla’s dental clinic for the last six years, the former minister is said to make it a point to visit and see a few patients every time he is in town. “He continued doing so even after he became a minister. He was in the clinic last week too,” said Ahluwalia.
‘Sacked secretively’
Singla’s appointment as a cabinet minister was a big moment for Mansa, said his acquaintances and colleagues. After 26 years, an MLA from Mansa had become a minister, they added.
The last one was the late Sher Singh Gagowal, a former Congress MLA, who was appointed in the cabinet led by former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal in 1996.
Singla’s sacking was done in a secretive fashion, said two senior AAP functionaries in Punjab. They added that the CM is believed to have discussed the matter with party chief Arvind Kejriwal when he came to Chandigarh Sunday, but none of the other cabinet members or MLAs knew about it.
According to a source, after Mann issued directions to the police to register a case against Singla Tuesday, he apprised one cabinet minister of the matter. After that, he recorded the video-briefing of the announcement from the office at his residence in Chandigarh. Later in the day, the CM held individual meetings with other cabinet members, the source added.
“It is true that top party members did not know what was happening and how the CM was investigating the matter against him (Singla). But now, when we look back, we can see some signs,” said a senior civil servant who did not wish to be identified.
“For instance, he (Singla) was strongly resisting the joining of two IAS officers in the health department whose names were there in a recent transfer order. Health is a priority sector of the AAP government and those officers were picked for the job for their good track record. Singla had no reason to delay their joining but he was still doing it,” the officer added.
Strengthening Punjab’s health infrastructure was one of the main election promises of the AAP, and Singla was in charge of the department. He was also overseeing the mohalla clinic initiative — a flagship project of the AAP.
After Singla’s dismissal, Mann has taken over the portfolio, a senior officer in the Chief Minister’s Office said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also read: ‘Mr 1%’: Hours after being sacked, former Punjab minister Vijay Singla arrested for corruption