Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers and senior Shiromani Akali Dal, Badal, politician Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa demanded on Saturday that three ministers in the Punjab Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh resign following their alleged involvement in a sex scandal in Ahmedabad.
The three Congress ministers, who had gone to Gujarat to campaign for the party during the recent election, reportedly forced a junior woman politician, who was detailed to assist them, into sexual intercourse in an Ahmedabad hotel.
Dhindsa told rediff.com that they knew the names of the ministers involved in the incident and would issue a detailed statement soon. "We are cross-checking our facts," he said. "But the incident has taken place for sure."
The alleged episode has come as a shot in the arm for the Akalis, who have been on the back foot, facing charges of corruption, ever since the Amarinder Singh government took over after the election in February this year.
Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal plans to take the matter up with Lieutenant General (retd) J F R Jacob, governor of Punjab, and demand the dismissal of the three ministers concerned.
Reports from Gujarat indicate that the local police is now investigating the matter and has questioned the manager of the hotel where the three ministers were lodged by the state Congress unit.
According to these reports, the woman, a local politician, had been detailed to accompany the ministers on the campaign trail. The Gujarat police, however, refused to confirm or deny the incident.
Mohsina Kidwai, Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab, has sought a report from Captain Amarinder Singh on the matter. But she told rediff.com that there was no truth in the allegations and the stories in local newspapers in Ahmedabad and Punjab were being planted by "vested interests". She did not rule out the involvement of some BJP politicians in planting these stories.
But a senior Punjab police officer said former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, an arch rival of Captain Amarinder Singh, was delighted at the opportunity to settle scores with him. "The local intelligence outfit has got in touch with officers of the Gujarat police to confirm the incident," the officer said.
Amarinder Singh was not available for comment.
