Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot suggests Punia should resign

NEW DELHI : Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot today suggested that National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman PL Punia should resign on moral grounds as his appointment was done in the last days of the UPA government.

"It is a constitutional post and in its last days, the UPA government had made this appointment in October-November last year. I just want to say that people sitting on such posts should resign on moral grounds and he (Punia) should consider this seriously," he told reporters outside Parliament.

Punia was a Congress MP from Barabanki in the last Lok Sabha and was appointed as the chairman of the commission during the UPA rule.

Asked if Punia could be sacked if he does not resign, Gehlot said, "I don't think I should say anything on the issue at this point of time. We will comment on it only after serious considerations."

The government has removed a number of UPA appointees from their posts after it came to power in May including the members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).