Jaipur:
A district court in Jaipur has issued notices to Nihal Chand Meghwal, Minister of State (MoS) in the Narendra Modi government, and 17 others in a four year old rape case.
The rape survivor, alleging sexual exploitation by her husband had filed a First Information Report or FIR in 2011. She had accused her husband of drugging her and then letting her associates rape her. The FIR also named MOS chemicals and fertilizers Mr Meghwal, now the only minister from Rajasthan in the Modi cabinet, as one of the people who sexually exploited her.
The police, a year later in 2012, had closed the case saying the charges were false and fabricated.
The woman had then approached a district court which had dismissed the charges. She appealed, following which additional district judge Prem Prakash Gupta issued notices to Mr Meghwal and 17 others in this case asking them to respond by August 20.
The Congress has demanded that PM Modi must immediately sack the minister.
"After Narendra Modi's speech, today is testing time for him. It is a serious issue and PM must immediately dismiss him. All the talks about austerity and transparency, they must think about it," said Congress leader Sachin Pilot.