Haryana stalking case: BJP MP Rajkumar Saini says Subhash Barala should resign on moral grounds

Amid growing demands for Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala’s resignation by Opposition, over his son Vikas’s arrest in an alleged stalking case in Chandigarh, the pressure is now mounting on Barala from within his own party. The BJP MP from Kurukshetra, Rajkumar Saini, on Sunday said that the state BJP chief should resign on moral grounds, reported The Indian Express. [caption id=“attachment_3903503” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rajkumar Saini. News18[/caption] “If (someone in) our family has done a mistake, resignation should be submitted on moral grounds.” Saini was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. The Kurukshetra MP further added that Barala’s resignation may improve the image of the party. According to The Tribune, Saini said that the incident brought a bad name “to the party working for women empowerment at the Centre and in the states.” “The involvement of Vikas Barala in a crime of drunk driving and stalking of a woman is a serious offence. If a leader cannot sensitise even his own family members on women safety, he should stay away from public life,” Saini was quoted as saying by The Tribune. BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher, responding to allegations that the case was being watered down, said that “politics will not be played with the case” and added that Chandigarh police was only going by law, News18 reported.

Incident with young girl from Chandigarh is unfortunate & shouldn't happen to anyone. We must also NOT play politics with a woman's dignity.

— Kirron Kher (@KirronKherBJP) August 6, 2017

“The Chandigarh police is an extremely capable police force. They are not going to let anyone play politics with it. I am glad the girl is safe and nothing bad happened to her. I am sure the police will get to the bottom of the case,” Kher was quoted as saying by News18. On Sunday, two persons, including the son of Haryana’s BJP chief, were arrested and released on bail soon after for allegedly stalking the daughter of a civil servant in Chandigarh. The two LLB students, as per The Tribune, were following the girl in their car on Friday night. A medical examination later revealed both were reportedly drunk. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday had said that Subhash Barala had “nothing to do with the incident”, as Opposition demanded his resignation. Ruling out the resignation of Barala as the BJP state chief, Khattar said, “Barala has nothing to do with this incident. It is an individual incident. The accused will face action if found guilty.” “This is my official stand. It was my stand on Saturday and it is my stand today as well… After this, on this issue, no question, no answer,” he told reporters in Hisar. Barala had said he respects the law and that the “truth” would come out. Haryana’s leader of Opposition and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala had demanded the resignation of Barala. Barala was re-elected as the state BJP president for the second time in three years in January 2016. The 48-year-old Jat leader is an MLA from Tohana. He was earlier the BJP appointed chief of the state unit in November 2014. With inputs from PTI