BJP demands Virbhadra Singh's resignation on corruption charges

SHIMLA: The BJP today asked senior Congress leader and HPCC President Virbhadra Singh to quit on moral grounds in wake of the allegations that he received payoff from a private steel company.

"Virbhadra is an established leader and my advice to him as a friend is that he should quit politics until he is cleared of allegations," party vice President Shanta Kumar said in Dharamsala.

On Virbhadra's charges that he had been framed into the case by some BJP leaders, Shanta Kumar said the fact that raids were conducted by the I-T department itself negates his allegations.

Questioning the moral right of Congress to ask for votes in Himachal, Kumar claimed the UPA government has "broken all records" of corruption and price rise, which has hit the common man worst, was gift of eight years rule of UPA.

The upcoming polls in Himachal and Gujarat will not only elect the governments in the respective states, but will also work as a "referendum" against Congress rule, he asserted.

Expressing his anguish over "dynastic" politics, Kumar said it was harming the country by blocking the way for younger people.