New Delhi:

Shortly after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann sacked a minister, Vijay Singla, over alleged corruption, he received high praise from his party boss, Arvind Kejriwal, who said the move “brought tears to my eyes”.

Vijay Singla, who was Punjab Health Minister, was arrested soon after his sacking. He is accused of demanding a one per cent bribe to clear tenders.

“Proud of you Bhagwant. Your action has brought tears to my eyes. Whole nation today feels proud of AAP,” Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister, posted, sharing a video of Bhagwant Mann announcing the action.

Proud of you Bhagwant. Ur action has brought tears to my eyes.

Whole nation today feels proud of AAP https://t.co/glg6LxXqgs

– Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 24, 2022

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief had in 2015 sacked one of his ministers on corruption charges.

Bhagwant Mann, who took over as Punjab Chief Minister after AAP’s victory in polls less than two months ago, reportedly took the step following complaints against the minister.

“A case had come to my knowledge, a minister of my govt was demanding a 1% commission for every tender. I took it very seriously. Nobody knew about it, had I wanted it could have brushed it under the carpet. But I would have broken the trust of people who trusted me,” he said in a video message.

“Not even one per cent corruption will be tolerated,” Mr Mann said. “The people have voted for an AAP government with a lot of hope, we have to live up to it. As long as Mother India has a son like Arvind Kejriwal and a soldier like Bhagwant Mann, the great war against corruption will continue,” he said, claiming Mr Singla had accepted the allegations.

Several AAP leaders commended Mr Mann and called it the party’s policy of “zero tolerance for corruption”.

AAP is the only party that “has the integrity, courage and uprightness to take action against their own”, said Raghav Chaddha.