By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress Monday demanded the immediate resignation of Punjab Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon following a charge-sheet filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for illegal recruitment of officials when he was a minister.
Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is a partner in the ruling alliance in Punjab, to immediately press for withdrawal of Kahlon from the speaker’s post.
“Or otherwise will the BJP which regularly pontificates about ethics in politics snap its ties with the Shiromani Akali Dal (its partner in the ruling coalition)?” he asked while speaking to media persons here.
Kahlon, a former Punjab minister for rural development and panchayat institutions, faces charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption act.
According to the charge-sheet, Kahlon had illegally recruited 909 panchayat secretaries and other officials.
Tiwari said the CBI has produced documentary evidence to support the involvement of Kahlon in graft.
He also noted that it was Kahlon who suspended Congress leader and former chief minister Amarinder Singh from the assembly – a decision which the Supreme Court struck down.