The Congress on Monday said Union Minister Smriti Irani should step down and a “judicial inquiry” should be ordered over bribery allegations levelled by international shooter Vartika Singh against the Minister and her two aides.
Last week, Ms. Singh alleged that the two “close aides” of Ms. Irani, who handles the Ministry of Women and Child Development besides the Textile Ministry, demanded a bribe ₹1 crore to make her a member of a women commission.
She also moved a court against the Minister and two others for allegedly demanding money, days after the shooter herself was named in a police complaint.
The MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur has fixed January 2 for a hearing after which it will decide if the case falls under its jurisdiction, according to Ms. Singh’s lawyer.
“Smriti ji, why don’t you come forward for an impartial inquiry after tendering your resignation. Why doesn’t the Prime Minister, after securing her resignation, order an independent judicial inquiry,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked at a press conference.
He said the allegations were serious and the truth needed to be ascertained. “A very serious allegation has been made against the country’s Cabinet Minister and it is not been made by any ordinary person but by one of the most decorated daughters of the country,” he added.
‘Fake letter’
The shooter had alleged that people close to Ms. Irani issued her a fake letter, appointing her as a member of the central women’s commission, a possible reference to the National Commission for Women.
Ms. Irani’s legal counsel Kirat Nagra had said the case filed against her by the shooter was based on “the most bizarre and mischievous set of falsehoods” and that “political patronage” was writ large on the matter.
(With inputs from PTI)
