Agencies/New Delhi
A cabinet minister resigned yesterday after a court charged him with corruption, in a further embarrassment for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s scandal-tainted government.
Singh: denies charges
“I have given my (resignation) papers to the prime minister,” Virbhadra Singh, the minister for micro, small and medium industries, told reporters.
The move came a day after a court in Himachal Pradesh charged Singh and his wife with conspiracy and corruption in a 23-year-old case related to one of his five terms as chief minister of the northern state.
The couple have denied all the charges and the ruling Congress Party stressed that Singh’s decision to quit was not an admission of wrongdoing.
“Virbhadra Singh has taken moral responsibility and resigned but it does not mean that he is guilty. Guilt has not been proven,” said party spokesman Janardan Dwivedi.
Singh said he would return to Himachal Pradesh, his home state, “to strengthen my party ahead of the forthcoming (assembly) elections.
“I will fight it out both at the grassroots and in courts.”
He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state of vindictiveness.
“It has tried to register false cases against me earlier too,” Singh said. “In the past I have come out clean. This time also I will come out clean.”
The case against Virbhadra Singh pertains to a CD from 1989 which allegedly shows him, when he was chief minister, and his wife demanding a bribe to allow investment in Himachal Pradesh.
Although the case is an old one, the charges against the minister are a further blow to the image of India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition which has been embroiled in a series of corruption scandals.
The most high profile case involved former telecom minister A Raja, who quit in November 2010 over the sale of second generation (2G) telecoms licences at far below their commercial value to selected companies.
Raja was later arrested and is currently on trial.
Reacting to Virbhadra Singh’s resignation, a BJP spokesman said there was “corruption from top to bottom” in the coalition government.
The party also rejected his charge that the BJP government in Himachal Pradesh hatched a conspiracy to frame him.
“The court took the decision, the (state) government had no role at all in it,” former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and BJP leader Shanta Kumar said.
Analysts say the framing of charges in an election year may have been a severe setback for Virbhadra Singh, who was almost marginalised in state politics after losing power in 2007, but politically he would emerge stronger.
Interestingly, two days before the court verdict his supporters virtually declared Singh to be the next chief minister with a show of strength at an informal public rally in Shimla.
The rally was organised to celebrate his 78th birthday and completion of his 50 years in politics.
At the rally, 21 out of the 23 Congress legislators, except state party chief Kaul Singh, who is also in race for chief minister, were present with a clear signal to the party high command to project Virbhadra Singh as the chief ministerial candidate.
“Still Virbhadra Singh has to fight a long legal battle. It’s almost impossible for him to come out clean (ahead of the elections due sometime in October). But the high command also knows that he is the tallest leader in the state,” a senior political leader said.
He said the framing of charges has given a lever to his detractors within the party to gun for his scalp but the high command knows he is the only charismatic leader and doesn’t want to annoy him.
Party leaders said Singh’s exit from the federal cabinet has brightened his future return to state politics.
