The winter Session of the Haryana Assembly started on Monday with noisy scenes as Congress took on Health Minister Anil Vij over the transfer of a woman IPS officer who was involved in a verbal spat with him and demanded his resignation even as he asserted that a case could be registered against her.
Heated exchanges took place among ruling BJP and Congress MlAs over the issue while Chief Minster Manohar lal Khattar came to the rescue of his Minister and appealed to opposition parties to avoid making it a Dalit versus others issue.
"The issue should not be linked with gender. The transfer of IPS officer Sangeeta Rani Kalia, who was SP of Fatehabad district, as Commandant 4th IRB at Manesar should not be seen as any kind of punishment," Khattar said.
During the Zero Hour, Geeta Bhukkal, a Congress Dalit MlA, said the Minister had spoken "inappropriately" to the Dalit woman officer and demanded that he should either apologise for his behaviour or resign.
She said a case is made against the Minister under the SC/ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act following which Vij got up from his seat to give clarification.
The State Health Minister told the House he had a video clip to back his claims that the SP had allegedly threatened the NGO, which had brought to his notice the issue of illicit liquor trade in the area. "A case can be registered against the SP for threatening the complainant NGO," the Minister said. He said, "It is dangerous if you know half truth. Some people are trying to politicise the issue and give it a different colour."
Kalia was on Saturday shunted out, a day after a spat with Vij. The minister had on Thursday stormed out of a meeting of the District Grievances and Public Relations Committee at Fatehabad after the police officer refused to follow his order to leave the venue following heated exchanges between them.