Indian Cabinet minister quits

An Indian Cabinet minister resigned Tuesday after a state court charged him with corruption, in a further embarrassment for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s scandal-tainted government.

“I have given my (resignation) papers to the Prime Minister,” Virbhadra Singh, the minister for micro, small and medium industries, told reporters.

The move came a day after a court in Himachal Pradesh charged Singh and his wife with conspiracy and corruption in a 23-year-old case related to one of his five terms as chief minister of the northern state.

The couple have denied all the charges and the ruling Congress party stressed that Singh’s decision to quit was not an admission of wrongdoing. “Virbhadra Singh has taken moral responsibility and resigned but it does not mean that he is guilty. Guilt has not been proven,” said party spokesman Janardan Dwivedi. AFP