CPI(M) demands sacking of VK Singh

NEW DELHI: CPI(M) today demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack V K Singh contending "repeated atrocious" statements by the Union Minister show he is "not fit" to be part of cabinet.

"The politburo strongly condemns remarks by Singh comparing burning alive of the children to stoning of a dog.

"He has made many similar atrocious statements in the past as well showing he is not fit to continue as a minister under the oath to uphold and protect Indian Constitution. The Prime Minister should immediately remove him from cabinet," the party insisted in statement.

The communist party also demanded a case be registered against Singh under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act "immediately".

Singh found himself at the center of a row earlier this week when he tried to defend Centre over the Sunped incident saying the Government can't be blamed "for everything...like if somebody throws a stone at a dog".

"See, the thing is, never associate local incidents with the Central government (sarkar). There is an inquiry going on. There was a dispute between families. The dispute...how did it turn out...where did the administration fail, after these it come to the Centre.

"For everything...like if somebody throws a stone at a dog, then the government is responsible...it is not like that," Singh said in Ghaziabad, the constituency he represents in Parliament, while referring to the burning alive of a Dalit family allegedly by upper caste Rajputs in Haryana's Faridabad which left two toddlers dead on the intervening night of October 19-20.

The former army chief, however, had later clarified his statement was not intended to draw an analogy between the Faridabad incident and stoning of a dog.