Omar Abdullah offers to resign

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday offered to resign from the post after a senior PDP leader made a serious allegation that he was involved in last year's sex scandal.

"I know it is a false allegation. But I want to resign till I am cleared of this false allegation. I cannot work till I am proved innocent. It is a blot on my character.

"Any amount of investigation by the home department will not not help. Till I am able to prove my innocence, I am going to give my resignation to the Governor," he told the State Assembly, a statement that shocked his party MLAs and Ministers.

The MLAs and Ministers physically restrained him from going out telling him not not to resign and that the party would not not accept it.

He was virtually forced to take his seat by the ruffled members but he got up to shout at them saying "allow me to take this first step"".

The whole drama began when PDP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Beig levelled the allegation that Abduallah was involved in the infamous Srinagar sex scandal.

He claimed he had a list of people involved in the scandal in which Abdullah's name figured against no 102.