Allegation doesn't make a person guilty: Khattar amid sexual harassment charges against his minister
Chandigarh(PTI): A person does not become guilty just because an allegation is levelled against him, Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar said on Tuesday amid Opposition demand to sack minister Sandeep Singh, who was booked for allegedly sexually harassing a woman coach.
He said the police are investigating the matter and further action will be taken once the inquiry report comes.
Singh gave up his Sports portfolio on Sunday, saying he has taken the step on moral grounds, and claimed that the charges against him are baseless. The former India hockey captain had said he has handed over the charge of the sports department to CM Khattar. However, he had not resigned from the BJP-led Haryana ministry.
"A woman sportsperson has levelled an absurd allegation against the sports minister. But just levelling an allegation does not make a person guilty. The police further probes the allegations.
"The Chandigarh police is investigating the matter and the Haryana Police too are gathering its report. We will take further action once the (inquiry) report comes," Khattar said in Rajasthan's Sirohi where he had gone to attend an event of the Brahma Kumaris.
"Being a minister in the sports department, an issue might have been raised that an impartial inquiry is not taking place. Therefore, he will not remain a sports minister, he has been removed from there so that a proper and fair inquiry takes place," the chief minister said.
The Chandigarh police on Saturday registered an FIR against the 36-year-old BJP leader on charges of sexual harassment and wrongful confinement.
The Haryana Director General of Police set up a committee after Singh lodged a complaint against the coach, claiming she had tarnished his image.
A 'khap panchayat' on Monday threatened to launch a big agitation if Singh is not sacked.
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Have spoken with Railways, Dadar Hanuman temple won’t be demolished: BJP leaders
Mumbai, Dec 14: A day after Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP over a demolition notice issued by the Railways to a temple outside Mumbai’s Dadar station, ruling party leaders claimed on Saturday that they have got it stayed.
BJP legislator Mangal Prabhat Lodha said the Dadar Hanuman temple will be protected.
Lodha visited the shrine near Platform No. 12 at Dadar East, adjacent to the Central Railway station. He interacted with the temple trustees and joined the ‘aarti’.
MLA Kalidas Kolambkar and members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad were also present at the temple.
Lodha said he had spoken with Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and an order has been issued to halt the demolition.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Thackeray on Friday claimed that Railways had issued a ‘fatwa’ (edict) to bring down the 80-year-old Hanuman temple built by porters. Taking a dig at the BJP’s “ek hai to safe hai” slogan, he said even temples are not safe in the saffron party’s regime.
After his temple visit, Lodha, who represents the Malabar Hill assembly constituency in the city, told reporters that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Maharashtra listen to the concerns over Hindutva and that of the people.
“We understand the sentiments of the Hindu community regarding this temple, and I assure you that no harm will come to this sacred place. Since we learnt about the situation, BJP leaders, and Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers have all been in contact with railway minister Vaishnaw,” he said.
The BJP leader said they have made every effort to protect the temple and would continue to do so.
“Any attempt to politicise religious sentiments has been thwarted before it could succeed, and we have successfully saved the temple,” he asserted.
In a notice dated December 4 to the trustee/pujari of the temple, the Railways said the structure was an encroachment and constructed without authorisation on land owned by it.
These structures are affecting the movement of commuters and vehicular traffic. It is also obstructing the construction of infrastructure works at Dadar station, it said. The Railways had given a seven-day notice for the removal of the structure.
Lodha said the notice has been stayed.
His party colleague and former MP Kirit Somaiya also visited the temple. He told the trustees that the railway officials had assured him the temple wouldn’t be demolished.
Attacking Thackeray, Somaiya told reporters that those who put devotees of the deity in jail for chanting ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ eventually have to surrender before Lord Hanuman, referring to the arrest of former MP Navneet Rana in Mumbai two years ago.
“He has accepted Sajjad Nomani, Ulema board, Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh and ‘vote jihad’ and should stay committed to them,” Somaiya said.
Meanwhile, former Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale said he has written to Vaishnaw citing that a similar notice was issued a few years ago and was stopped after his intervention. He urged the Union minister to find a permanent solution to the matter saying that the temple is very popular among locals.
