Himachal Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajeev Bindal, on Wednesday, 27 May, resigned from his post on moral grounds and sought an impartial probe into last week's arrest of the state Health Director for allegedly seeking a Rs 5,00,000 bribe.
Bindal denied involvement in the health department scam. Former Health Minister and four-time legislator Bindal sent his resignation to BJP president JP Nadda.
In his letter to Nadda, he refuted allegations of involvement in any scam.
A 43-second audio file, purportedly carrying the voice of Ajay Kumar Gupta, Director of Health Services, demanding the bribe from a supplier, had gone viral on social media.
Subsequently, Gupta was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau on 20 May.
While the Opposition Congress has been demanding a CBI probe, Bindal has denied the involvement of any BJP leader in the scam.
“Recently, an audio clip of the director of health services went viral following which the state government took prompt action and the director was booked and arrested, and investigation by vigilance bureau is on. Meanwhile, fingers were pointed at the BJP in an indirect way by some people,” Bindal said in his resignation letter.
“It is to be kept in mind that I am only resigning on the basis of high moral grounds,” he added.
Bindal, 65, was the Speaker of the Assembly until January next year and was picked by JP Nadda to head the party in the state.
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