Fauja Singh Sarari cited personal reasons as the reason for his resignation.
Punjab Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh Sarari resigned from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's cabinet on Saturday, months after an audio clip surfaced in which he was allegedly heard "fixing a deal to extort money".
Mr Sarari sent his resignation to Bhagwant Mann, who is learnt to have accepted it, according to sources.
He cited personal reasons as the reason for his resignation, saying that he is a loyal soldier of the party and will remain so.
A retired policeman, Mr Sarari was elected to the Punjab Assembly from Guru Har Sahai in Ferozepur. He had defeated SAD candidate Vardev Singh by 10,574 votes.
The 61-year-old's ouster from the cabinet was imminent ever since an audio clip of his alleged conversation with a close aide regarding a plan to "trap" some contractors with the help of government officials to extort money went viral on social media.
The minister, however, had claimed that the audio was "doctored" to frame him.
Senior AAP leader Dr Balbir Singh was today sworn in as the new Punjab cabinet minister. Mr Singh, an eye surgeon, had defeated senior Congress leader Brahm Mohindra's son Mohit Mohindra from the Patiala Rural seat in the assembly polls held last year.