Congress leader Ojha demands NDA minister's resignation for alleged role in rape case

The pPresident of the Congress Party's women's wing, Shobha Ojha, has demanded resignation of Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilisers, Nihal Chand, after he was summoned by a magistrate's court to appear in a rape case.

The court in Jaipur, Rajasthan summoned Chand and 17 others after a 20-year-old woman filed a complaint accusing her husband and his friends, including the minister, in a sexual assault case.

Ojha said, "We demand that a minister who has been served a notice for a serious issue like rape does not have any moral right to serve as a minister. He should resign to let an impartial probe into the case. He should resign so that he is not able to influence the investigation in the case."

Congress Party general secretary Shakeel Ahmad, who was also present at the news conference, slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for not responding strongly to the ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi trying to establish friendly ties with the neighbouring nation, this incident should alarm the incumbent Indian leadership.

"We want to ask the Prime Minister that when he tried to extend a friendly gesture by inviting the leaders of the neighboring countries including Pakistan, then this treatment from Pakistan that too on a day when Modi met the chief of army to discuss security issues, should come as an alarm to Modi and leaders in Delhi," said Ahmad.

Reportedly, Modi met Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Friday to look into the prevailing security situation and operational readiness of troops along India's borders.

The first substantial meeting of the Army Chief with the Prime Minister coincided with the ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.

As per Indian defence report, Pakistan fired with semi automatic and automatic weapons and Indian posts also retaliated in a gun battle that lasted 25 minutes in the morning.

This violation came after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi following the latter's invitation to all the SAARC country leaders which was largely seen as a bid to boost bilateral ties between India and Pakistan.

Modi and Sharif were seen keen to rebuild ties and diplomats say closer integration of Pakistan with India's giant economy could lay the ground for improving political relations.