The Congress on Friday sought to corner the Modi government by demanding resignation of Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Nihalchand Meghwal for his alleged involvement in a rape case. The BJP, however, ruled out his resignation.
The lone BJP Minister from Rajasthan was named in an FIR filed in 2011 by a woman who alleged that her husband had drugged her and allowed his friends, among them Mr. Meghwal, to rape her. The Rajasthan Police closed the case in 2012 on the grounds that the charges were false and fabricated. A local court too dismissed the charges. Following her appeal, another local court issued notice to Mr. Meghwal and 16 others on Thursday, asking them to respond by August 20.
However, the BJP ruled out resignation late on Friday night. “In December 2012, the police under the Gehlot government filed a final report and a closure report. The same was accepted by the metropolitan magistrate in February 2014. If there is anything further, it will be replied according to law,” party spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh said.
Mr. Meghwal is the second Union Minister whose resignation had been sought. On Tuesday, after an affidavit filed by the government indicted Minister of State Gen. (Retd.) V.K. Singh, the principal opposition party said that he should step down.
