Tarlochan not to resign from Minority

Chairman of National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh is unlikely to resign from the post though he has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana.

Singh, who had made controversial remarks against the Muslim community on the eve of Lok Sabha elections, said the office of chairperson of the Commission is not an office of profit and therefore he is free to hold both posts. ‘‘There have been instances when the chairperson and even the members of the autonomous commissions have continued as members of Parliament,’’ he told The Indian Express H. Hanumanthappa remained chairman of the erstwhile Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and Rajya Sabha MP while Anita Arya, former chairperson of the Safai Karmachari Commission, was also an MP, he said.

Singh would, however, have to opt for pay from either of the posts. ‘‘After I take oath, I guess, I would be asked to take an option on which pay package I would like to accept,’’ he said. Singh was elected to the Rajya sabha amid a dramatic tussle between the Congress and the ruling INLD over the eligibility of six Independents to vote in the elections. The Speaker ultimately disqualified them under the anti-defection law, upholding the INLD’s plea that they had joined the Congress.