Srinagar, July 28 - Declaring that he could not work till his name was cleared, an emotional Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah threatened to resign Tuesday over allegations by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that he was involved in a sex scandal.
There was high drama in the assembly as Abdullah said he would step down and not return till the slur was removed. Members of his National Conference surrounded him and tried to physically stop him from leaving, but a determined Abdullah strode out of the house.
In the sensational sex scandal that rocked the state in 2006, a minor girl in Srinagar had accused senior politicians, bureaucrats, paramilitary and police officers of raping her.
Following the public outrage, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court intervened and directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to handle the probe. The CBI later presented a chargesheet and a trial is underway at a sessions court in Punjab.
On Tuesday, the scandal came back to haunt Kashmiri politicians.
Senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig submitted a list of what he said was the accused in the case prepared by the CBI.