Ignoring calls for his resignation from opposition leaders following the court directive ordering a CBI probe into the gutkha scam in which he is an accused, Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar on Thursday said it was only natural that allegations and criticisms were levelled against those involved in public life.
“If one functions more actively, more such allegations would be levelled because these are levelled by the opposition parties. That [levelling of allegations] is their [opposition parties’] job. Our job is to work for the welfare of the people,” the Minister said. He did not answer further queries.
Meanwhile Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar, a senior member of the cabinet, said he had only heard about the judgment. “The State government can only react after going through the entire contents of the judgment,” he said.
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When reporters asked whether the Minister and the Director General of Police would be asked to step down, Mr. Jayakumar said the issue was only in the “preliminary stage” and those situations [stepping down], if at all, might emerge only later.
Resign, says Dhinakaran
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran demanded the resignation of the Ministers and the officials ‘involved’ in the scam to ensure a fair probe by the CBI. “The Ministers and officials should own moral responsibility and resign on their own,” he said.
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