After PDPs sex smear,Omar quits as CM,told to stay on

In New Delhi,official sources said Vohra is unlikely to accept his resignation and the crisis in Jamp;K will blow over since ally Congress has also rallied behind Abdullah and asked him not to press for acceptance of his resignation.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram gave him a clean chit in the sex scandal case. The CBI has concluded investigations. Mr Omar Abdullahs name does not figure in the list of the accused, he told reporters.

Vohra,who was on his way to Srinagar airport to leave for Delhi,deferred his departure on receiving a message that the CM wanted to meet him urgently.

The Raj Bhavan spokesperson said Abdullah asked the Governor to inquire on a time-bound basis into allegations made against his character by Beigh,a former Deputy Chief Minister and now a PDP MLA,in the Assembly and to immediately accept his resignation in case the Governor is satisfied that there is any basis therein.

In the Assembly,Beigh waved papers which he claimed was a CBI list of the suspects. You please have a look at serial number 102 of the list. I regret to say there is the name of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah8230; The Chief Minister,therefore,has no moral authority to rule, Beigh told the Speaker.

A visibly upset Abdullah drove to the Governors residence at 3 pm after announcing in the Assembly that he would submit his resignation and stay out of office till his name is cleared,refusing to yield to pleas by National Conference and Congress MLAs not to step down.

In the letter he handed to Vohra,Abdullah said: Beigh levelled unsubstantiated allegations against my person,attacking my character. Those who lead must not only be clean but also look to be clean. At the end of the day,all one has is ones personal credibility and self respect. Both of these Mr Beigh tried to snatch from me through the charges he levelled.

I would be grateful if you could enquire 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. I want to keep my conscience clean and dont want to carry this stigma on my mind because I have always believed that politics should be clean and based on high standards of morality. I will always continue to strive for rich traditions which I have inherited from my grandfather Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and my father Dr Farooq Abdullah.

Speaker M A Lone said the Assembly will also hold its own inquiry since the allegation was levelled in the House. I am summoning all records relating to the Srinagar sex abuse scandal as it has become necessary for us to get it probed after the matter has been raised in the Assembly today, he said.

Lone said he had contacted the CBI Director. I had to call Director CBI as the matter was raised on the floor of the Assembly. In fact,after raising the issue in the House,Beigh also handed me a paper which read that the CBI has arrayed Omar Abdullah as one of the accused in the sex scandal, he said.

He indicated Beigh could face action if his allegation was found to be untrue. Action against Beigh will be considered,based on the opinion of the House and I will be truly guided by rules in the case, Lone said.

The sex scandal matter is now pending in the High Court. Sources in the CBI said the matter was referred to a full bench after a two-judge bench gave a split verdict.

Senior lawyer Zafar A Shah,who pleads on behalf of the High Court Bar Association which filed a PIL,said neither the defence lawyers nor the prosecution had access to the case diaries submitted by the CBI to the court.