The rape and murder of the 8-year-old girl, who belonged to the nomadic Bakerwal community, has sparked national outrage.
New Delhi: The two Jammu and Kashmir BJP ministers — forest minister Chaudhary Lal Singh and industries and commerce minister Chander Prakash Ganga who allegedly attended an event organised by the Hindu Ekta Manch in support of the Kathua rape case accused — submitted their resignations Friday.
The rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl, who belonged to the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community, has sparked national outrage. The resignations came almost around the same time Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the crime and promised that justice would be done in the Kathua and Unnao rape cases.
“The two ministers submitted their resignations to the state party president who will present it before the party high command,” BJP state general secretary Ashok Kaul told ThePrint.
“A meeting has been called to discuss their resignations in the party legislature tomorrow (Saturday),” Kaul said.
The BJP is also likely to discuss in the same meeting matters related to its alliance with the PDP.
The PDP has also convened a party meeting on the same issue.
Sources said the BJP high command in Delhi directed the two ministers to resign.
“The chief minister had asked BJP to remove both ministers involved in the rally…making it clear that they must go one way or the other,” said a source privy to chief Mehbooba Muft’s meeting in New Delhi recently.
Cracks had surfaced in the PDP-BJP alliance after the two ministers had criticised the J&K police for arresting “one or the other person at will” and demanding that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a move that has put the chief minister in an embarrassing situation.
The opposition, National Conference and the Congress, had demanded that Mehbooba sack the two ministers.
The Hindu Ekta Manch recently held a rally to oppose the settlement of Gujjar and Bakerwal tribes in Kathua and demanded the release of a police officer arrested in connection with the Kathua rape and murder case. Vijay Sharma, state BJP secretary, also allegedly took part of in the protest march.
With PTI inputs.