Chandigarh, January 2
Bir Devinder Singh, former Deputy Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha expressed that Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh must resign immediately after FIR was registered against him in sexual harassment case and face investigation like an ordinary person.
“Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh, who has been divested of the sports portfolio after an FIR u/s 354, 353 A,, 354 B,342,506 of the IPC has been registered against him in a sexual harassment case by the Chandigarh Police. When the Chandigarh Police registered an FIR against the sitting Cabinet Minister of the Haryana Cabinet it appears that prima facie, police must have found something substantial in the allegations of the women coach, that entails serious consideration under the law and hence they registered a case under varied sections of the IPC. After being booked under various cognizable offenses by the UT Police which is under the direct control of the Union Home Ministry, it’s incumbent upon the Minister to respect the majesty of law and resign forthwith on moral grounds,” said Bir Devinder Singh.
“If the Minister suspected of contaminated dignity resists tendering his resignation voluntarily then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar must sack him summarily. If an attempt has been made to outrage the modesty of the women coach by the Sports Minister, then it is a very serious charge and must be dealt with in every possible severity, under the law. Minister Sandeep Singh in this case as alleged has certainly taken the advantage of his constitutional position as Minister, therefore in view of the serious allegations, he has no business to retain that exalted status of a Minister, which he should either surrender voluntarily or he be immediately stripped of the status by the Chief Minister and make him available to face the majesty of the law. And if he is finally absolved of all the charges by the investigation agencies then he could again be inducted into the council of Ministers with restored honor and dignity and then in that case, of course, the women coach should face the law for making false allegations against the Minister,” he added.
