Bihar's Social Welfare Minister, Manju Verma, resigned on Wednesday after it emerged her husband had links to Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the sexual exploitation case of 34 girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur.
The CBI has reportedly found that her husband, Chandeshwar Verma, exchanged several calls with Thakur, whose NGO ran the government-funded facility. Thakur is under arrest for the horror that surfaced on May 31.
Call records also establish that Chandeshwar visited the shelter home several times. Manju was the only female minister in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Cabinet. She rushed from her constituency Cheriya-Bariyarpur to Patna on Wednesday morning after Thakur admitted that he used to talk to Chandeshwar. "I met the CM and submitted my resignation," she said.
On Wednesday, Thakur, on his way for a court hearing, said, "Some political discussions took place but nothing related to work."
"Kisi kisi bindu pe baat hoti thi, par koi aisa parichay nahi tha unse (didn't know him very well)," he said.
Thakur's statement contradicted Manju who had denied any links with Thakur or his NGO and said she was being targeted under a political conspiracy.
She, however, maintained that her husband is innocent. "I resigned because of the hue and cry made by the Opposition and media. But, from where did call records come? All this is being done to save some white-collared person," she said.
"If my husband is guilty because of talking to Thakur, then full call details should be made public to reveal all high-profile people who talked to him because everyone is guilty," she said in a news meet after her resignation.
She reposed her faith in the CBI and the judicial process and said her husband will be proven innocent. "And I will file a defamation case against the woman when he is proven innocent," she added.
Chandeshwar's name figured in the investigation when Shiba Kumari, the wife of one of the arrested Child Protection Officers, Ravi Roshan, alleged that he used to frequent the shelter home.
Earlier, the CM had said that he could not take any action without any reason. "I had called the Minister in person and she denied any involvement in the matter," he had said.
BJP had also supported Manju with Deputy CM Sushil Modi saying, "BJP stood by her. She need not resign over statements made by other people."
The "delay" in Manju's resignation is being attributed to the "caste card played before next year's general elections." Manju comes from the Kushwaha community, which comprises around 10% of Bihar's population and is only after Muslims and Yadavs.
