Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said allegations do not make a person guilty – his first public statement on sexual harassment allegations. Which is currently being faced by minister Sandeep Singh in his cabinet.
Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Khattar termed the allegations as ‘absurd’. “A woman player has leveled absurd allegations against the Sports Minister (Sandeep Singh) but she is not guilty yet. In the meantime, we have removed him from his post so that the investigation can go on smoothly. We will wait for the investigation to be completed.
The woman has accused former Indian hockey captain Singh of inspiring the move ‘Surma’Of trying to rape her last July.
While Singh has denied the allegations, he has stepped down from the sports ministry even as he remains the printing and stationery minister.
Despite Khattar’s stand, opposition parties, women’s rights organizations and at least one caste council have demanded Singh’s immediate dismissal. A Khap Panchayat (caste council) has been organized at Dawla in Jhajjar threatened to protest Unless Singh is sacked by January 7, a Khap The representatives who attended the meeting told the media that they wanted the minister to be arrested immediately.
in between, The woman who made the allegations appeared before a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the allegations.
‘Influence the investigation’
Critics of the Khattar government say that the government’s decision to allow Singh to continue in the cabinet could be detrimental to the investigation.
As the controversy escalated, the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) National Vice President Jagmati Sangwan wrote an open letter to the newly elected Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha about the incident.
Sangwan, a former international volleyball player who was part of the 1982 Asian Games contingent along with Usha, appealed to her to help protect vulnerable female athletes from men in powerful positions.
The letter said that Singh was using his “position of power” to influence the course of justice and asked the police chief to set up an SIT to look into the “character” of the complainant. A “classical (sic) case of “hunting”.
The letter states that the minister is using government machinery to harass the complainant in every possible way and police officers in plain clothes have been asked to follow her activities.
“The State Commission for Women has not found the allegations of the complainant to be credible only on the basis of his conversation with the accused minister and without ever speaking to the victim,” it said.
The letter states that this particular case is not just related to one sportsperson, but is a reflection of the functioning of the entire sports machinery in our country.
“As the President of IOA and a distinguished woman athlete, I request your intervention in this matter by pressing for the immediate dismissal of the accused from all government posts so that the matter can be impartially investigated and ensure that May the victim get justice,” Sangwan wrote. “This will send a very important message indicating that while the IOA is committed to meeting the sporting needs of sportspersons in India, it is equally committed to ensuring their mental, physical and social well-being.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP Deepender Hooda told the press that a fair probe could be ensured only after Singh’s dismissal from the cabinet. “A fair investigation cannot be ensured when there is influence of the government in the matter. This is possible only when the accused is sacked from the cabinet.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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