Congress MLA from Sonipat, Surender Panwar, recently resigned from the Vidhan Sabha membership but later withdrew his resignation letter after an assurance from Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta. Panwar is one among those half-a-dozen MLAs of Haryana who had received threats in the recent past. Panwar had received a threat call from Dubai and the caller had demanded a ransom from him. He had sent his resignation to the Speaker through an email a few days ago. Panwar said: “My family and other MLAs were receiving threats. Under that pressure, I had sent my (resignation) to the Speaker through email. But Speaker sahab suggested me to come and talk. Speaker sahab has assured me and all other MLAs complete protection stating that the accused will be arrested as early as possible. Following the assurance, I withdrew my resignation.” Gian Chand Gupta said: “Panwar had called me on July 14 that he wants to resign from the Assembly membership. When I asked the reason, he replied that there were family reasons. I suggested to him that he should think it over. Then, he sent a WhatsApp message, email and signed letter. In his resignation letter, he had not put any conditions. Now, he has submitted a letter to withdraw his resignation while mentioning concerns about the security of his family. We will examine it and take legal opinion before taking further action.” When asked about the threats to the MLAs, the Speaker said: “It is a very serious issue. The government should take cognizance of it and ensure proper security to the legislators. I have come to know that additional security personnel have been deployed for the protection of MLAs.” According to Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, all such threat calls are coming from abroad and the matter has now been referred to the special task force.
