Oppn demands dismissal, arrest of Punjab minister over text to woman official

Opposition parties on Thursday sought the dismissal and arrest of a Punjab minister who allegedly sent "inappropriate" messages to a woman government official.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) criticised Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's statement that he believed that the matter has been "resolved" to the victim's satisfaction.

Singh had said he had taken up the matter "very seriously" and asked the minister to apologise.

"The government should dismiss the cabinet minister who sent inappropriate messages to a woman official," BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh said in a release here.

He also demanded that the minister, who remains unnamed, should be arrested.

Akali Dal leader Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal accused Singh of brushing aside a serious matter by saying that minister has apologised.

"What precedent is the chief minister setting by stating that a mere apology will suffice?" he asked.

An apology alone will not make up for the trauma and harassment the official went through, Grewal said in a release.

"The chief minister, as the head of the government, should set an example so that women are provided a safe work environment," he said.

"The SAD will pursue this issue till justice is dispensed," he added.

Women's wing of the SAD, Istri Akali Dal (IAD), demonstrated outside Singh's residence here and demanded the "naming and shaming" of the minister.

The chief minister is in Israel on an official visit.

"We demand exemplary action against the minister so that a message goes (out) loud and clear that sexual harassment of women will not be tolerated in the state," Mohali district president of the IAD Kuldeep Kaur Kang said.

According to a media report, the Cabinet minister sent text messages to the official and stopped for a while when she warned him against it.

She reportedly complained against him after he messaged her again over a month ago.