The National Conference (NC) on Sunday said there was no need for chief minister Omar Abdullah to resign over the death of a party worker allegedly in police custody because a judicial inquiry had already been ordered.
"One cannot ask for resignation after every allegation," said state finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather.
This was the first response from the ruling party to criticism, especially from opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP), over the death of Syed Muhammad Yusuf, 61.
Rather and law and parliamentary affairs minister Ali Muhammad Sagar assured at a press conference the inquiry would also look into alleged money deals involving the deceased and party workers.
Yusuf had allegedly taken Rs 85 lakh and Rs 35 lakh from fellow party workers Mohammad Yousuf Bhat and Abdul Salam Rishi respectively, promising them berths in the state ministry and legislative council.
{{/usCountry}}Yusuf had allegedly taken Rs 85 lakh and Rs 35 lakh from fellow party workers Mohammad Yousuf Bhat and Abdul Salam Rishi respectively, promising them berths in the state ministry and legislative council.
{{/usCountry}}The CM had handed over Yusuf to the state crime branch on September 29 for investigations. According to the crime branch, he died the next day at a Srinagar hospital after complaining of nausea and chest pain.
Rather said the commission would decide when an FIR would be filed. But he did not say when the commission would start its inquiry.
Asked why the two NC workers who had allegedly paid Yusuf not been arrested, Rather said if the commission felt action should be taken, it could.
He asked the PDP "not to do politics on the dead person". Following Yusuf's death, the PDP has demanded the resignations of the CM, state home minister Nasir Aslam Wani and NC president and union minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah.
The PDP legislature group delivered an adjournment motion to speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone, seeking a discussion on the issue in the assembly on Monday.