The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) came up with a clarification on Wednesday that former Union Minister Chinmayanand, who is a rape accused and in judicial custody, was never a member of the party and hence there is no question of expelling him.
Swatantra Dev Singh, UP BJP chief when asked whether the party proposed any action against Chinmayanand, said, “He was never a BJP member and hence the question does not arise.”
Though, Chinmayanand is a three-time Lok Sabha MP and was a minister of state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, so it is not clear whether he became minister without being a member of the party or if he resigned later.
This is the first comment from the BJP on the rape accused leader embroiled in the case since August.
The law student, who accused the BJP leader Chinmayanand of rape, was arrested on Wednesday morning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). She was detained for questioning on Tuesday in the extortion case filed by Chinmayanand against her and three other persons known to her.
However, the complainant has refuted the charges against her and added that extortion angle is added to weaken the case against Chinmayanand.
Chinmayanand was arrested on Friday last week on charges of sexual misconduct and harassment but not rape. He is charged with“misusing authority for sexual intercourse” or “sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape” as well as with stalking, criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement. During an interrogation by the SIT on Friday, he has admitted to the sexual harassment. He had confessed to having called the law student for “massages”and said that he was ashamed of his act.
73-year- old Chinmayanand is the second BJP leader after Kuldeep Singh Sengar who has been disowned in similar circumstances. Kuldeep Sengar, has been in jail since last year over allegations of raping a teen who had first gone to him for a job in Unnao. He too was expelled only after his arrest after several months when the case became public.