Dhumal rejects ‘honest’ Bindal’s resignation

The CM said Bindal had resigned from the Cabinet after he was emotionally hurt by the baseless and false charges. “So,I have rejected his resignation. Those who believe that the matter needs to be probed are free to file affidavits with the Lokayukta,” he added.

Dhumal said the minister could not be accused of corruption for having purchased some land for which approvals were given by the then Congress government. He (Bindal) had surrendered the land back to BPL owners despite having completed all legal formalities. The allegations about Bindal having bought a flat at Lucknow had also been proved totally wrong,he added.

Seeking to turn the tables on the Congress,the CM accused PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur of having submitted a wrong affidavit to get government (forest) land at concessional rates for construction of a residential house,which he had later rented out to NHPC. He dared Thakur to resign on moral grounds.

“The time has come when we will expose corruption in the Congress. They (Congress) are targeting an honest person (Bindal) who comes from a reputed family which had been paying income tax since 1935,” he said,adding that those levelling allegations against Bindal would face legal action.

Sources said Dhumal had put the issue of Bindal’s resignation to an open discussion in the BJP Legislature Party on Monday evening. “The entire Legislature Party backed Bindal and asked the Chief Minister to reject the resignation as the Congress had been trying to derive political mileage out of this,” said BJP state president Satpal Satti.