NEW DELHI, Oct 13 � Backing Law Minister Salman Khurshid, the Congress today rejected demands for his resignation and dismissed as �untruth� the charges of irregularities levelled against the Minister�s NGO by Arvind Kejriwal, reports PTI.
�Untruth cannot become the basis for crucifying anybody. Till court pronounces ... everyone enjoys equal protection. They are innocent till proved guilty,� Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.
He was responding to a media query on whether the Congress favoured action against the Law Minister.
Khurshid has already knocked at the door of law and has already initiated certain civil proceedings and criminal proceedings are under contemplation, Tewari said.
Noting that reports of certain findings by the CAG against the NGO were found to be incorrect as there has been no CAG report on the issue, he said each and every allegation will be subject to judicial scrutiny.
Tewari�s remarks came as the war of attrition between Kejriwal and Khurshid escalated with the activist launching an indefinite protest demanding the Minister�s resignation and arrest.
Khurshid�s wife Louise, the project director of the NGO Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, lashed out at Kejriwal, terming the allegations of �money bungling� as �baseless innuendos� and accused him of �doing politics using the shoulders of the disabled�.
She also trashed speculation about her husband resigning over the issue, saying there is no reason why her husband should step down. �There is no inquiry against Khurshid either by the Central government or any report by the CAG. So why should he step down?� Louise said.
Meanwhile, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni also came to the defence of Khurshid, saying the demand for the resignation of the �upright� minister were not fair.
Soni said the charges made against Khurshid could shatter a person and TV channels were running them without having known his version.
�The charges put against him in television channels ... and his trust indeed would have a shattering effect on anybody because you haven�t even heard his side of the picture,� Soni told journalists here.
Soni also said a government cannot function if people sit on dharnas setting conditions for ministers� resignation.
�It�s easy for people to level charges but there has to be much more to it than sitting down on a strike and saying either he resigns or we will continue to sit ... I think that�s not looking at the way governments function in a democracy. There is a rule of law,� she said.
Kejriwal released: Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal and his supporters who were detained during a protest demanding resignation of the Law Minister were released from the makeshift jail in Outer Delhi.
Kejriwal said they will continue their protest at Parliament Street till Khurshid is removed from the Cabinet and arrested along with his wife.
