TNN
Srinagar, Jul 28: Jammu and Kashmir was plunged into a sudden political crisis Tuesday with an emotional Chief Minister Omar Abdullah resigning from office after the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged his involvement in a sensational sex scandal that had rocked the state in 2006.
Declaring that he was "guilty until proven innocent" and could not get back to work till his name was cleared, Abdullah strode out of the assembly after an emotional outburst that stunned his party - and political watchers with the suddenness with which events unfolded.
There was no official word from Governor N.N. Vohra if he had accepted the resignation of the chief minister.
A Raj Bhavan spokesman said the governor has asked the assembly secretariat for all the pertinent records and documents of the day's proceedings during which PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig linked the chief minister to the scam.
An official statement said the chief minister wrote to the governor that the allegations leveled against him by the PDP should be thoroughly probed and if found true, the governor must immediately accept his resignation.
Devender Rana, the political advisor of the chief minister, however, told the media that Omar Abdullah had resigned as the chief minister and the governor had asked him to continue in the office as an interim arrangement.
Abdullah, 39, became the country's youngest chief minister when his National Conference came to power partnering the Congress in January this year.
"It is not an accusation of a theft or dacoity. It is a much more serious accusation, and I cannot function as the chief minister unless cleared of the accusation," Abdullah said in the assembly and declared he would not return till the slur was removed.
There was high drama as NC legislators tried to physically stop him from walking out, but they were unsuccessful as a determined Abdullah shook them off.
It was all over in just a few minutes.
The sensational sex scandal broke in April 2006 after police discovered two VCDs showing Kashmiri women being sexually exploited. It snowballed into a massive racket that allegedly involved two ministers of the then Congress-PDP government, senior police and paramilitary officers and influential businessmen.
Forty-three women, including a minor, were being allegedly exploited by the powerful establishment, prompting violent protests with mainstream and separatist groups joining hands.
Following the public outrage, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court intervened and directed the CBI to handle the probe. The CBI later presented a charge sheet and a trial is underway at a sessions court in Punjab.
The CBI had arrested G.M. Mir and Raman Mattoo, both ministers in the then Congress-PDP government, besides Iqbal Khandey, the former principal secretary to then chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
On Tuesday, the scandal came back to haunt Kashmiri politicians.
Senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig submitted a list of what he said were the accused in the case prepared by the CBI. According to Baig, Abdullah's name was 102nd in the list.
"We want an investigation..." Baig told reporters after the tense session but admitted that this was a mere allegation.
"His (Omar Abdullah's) father's name also figures... It is number 38. I did not take his name (in the house) because he (Farooq Abdullah) is not a member of the house," Baig said.
He claimed that the list handed over to the assembly speaker by him was the same submitted to the state high court by the CBI.
Abdullah senior - NC president and union Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah - happened to be in Srinagar too to advise his son. He was due to leave for New Delhi but turned back from the airport to advise his son.
A closed door meeting of Omar with his father ended with the Abdullahs going to the governor's residence Raj Bhavan.
"The chief minister is really upset," said close aide Devender Rana.
"The allegations levelled against him are false and it is now up to the governor to decide whether to accept the resignation or not," he told reporters.
Tensions in Kashmir spilled over to the national capital too.
CBI officials, while declining to react immediately on whether Abdullah's name figured in the case, said Home Minister P. Chidambaram was likely to make a statement in parliament.
"We are not commenting on this issue just now. The home minister is likely to make a statement in parliament to clarify matters," said a senior CBI official.
However, highly placed CBI sources hinted that Abdullah's name did not come up during the course of investigation.
As Abdullah became the talking point of the nation and people argued about the merits of his move, ally Congress also came out in his favour.
"Omar stands on high moral ground," said state Congress chief Saifuddin Soz. "He will fight to prove his innocence."