PDP slur prompts Omar Abdullah to quit

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday submitted his resignation to state Governor N N Vohra despite National Conference and Congress leaders telling Omar to reconsider his decision.

Omar's decision to quit comes after dramatic scenes in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Tuesday with PDP MLA and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzzafar Beig telling the House that Omar's name was mentioned in a CBI list of the 2006 sex scandal case.

In an emotional statement, Omar Abdullah said these were false allegations but felt he could not hold office till he was entirely cleared of these allegations.

"I would be grateful if you could inquire into the allegations against me in a time-bound manner. And if you are satisfied that there is any basis in these allegations, please accept my resignation immediately," Omar wrote to the Governor.

"I am resigning," was Omar Abdullah's dramatic statement shortly after which he walked out of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly earlier in the day.

"The truth is that according to the law one is innocent until proven guilty. You all would have agreed to the same for crimes like theft, burglary etc. But unfortunately in this case where I am falsely accused. I will be guilty until proven innocent. This is a black spot on my reputation. You can get an enquiry by the Home Department of anyone else, but it won't help, I won't be able to work till the time I am proven innocent," he said.

Meanwhile, sources say the Governor may reject Omar's resignation. Omar is also being persuaded by coalition partners to change his mind for the sake of the state's stability.

Sources also tell NDTV that Omar's name is not in the CBI list as cited by Muzaffar Baig.

Omar's name like his father's, and those of other politicians, came up in rumours and conjectures about the 2006 sex scandal. So the CBI probed the rumours and found them to be untrue and without foundation.

CBI did find that people made attempts to influence the witness, the minor sex worker, to name politicians but it didn't work.