NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the former Union Minister for NRI Affairs, Jagdish Tytler, putting in his papers on Wednesday night, the Outer Delhi Member of Parliament, Sajjan Kumar, stepped down from a government post.

In view of the increased pressure from the party and Parliament in the wake of the tabling of the Nanavati Commission report and references made to him, Mr. Kumar on Thursday resigned as the Chairman of the Rural Development Board of the Delhi Government.

It is learnt that Mr. Kumar tendered his resignation to the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, following a direction from the party leadership to give up the post.

The Delhi Rural Development Board, having a corpus fund of Rs. 100 crores, was set up in 2004 with Mr. Kumar at the helm of affairs.

Uproarious debate

The pressure on Mr. Kumar to quit the Board had increased tremendously after an uproarious debate in Parliament and the decision of Mr. Tytler to step down from the Cabinet.

It is understood that Mr. Kumar had made up his mind on Wednesday night itself after he got feelers from the high-ups in the party that in order to pacify the extreme sentiments of the Sikhs as well as Parliament, it would be wise for him to put in his papers.

Mr. Kumar has maintained a low profile ever since the Nanavati Commission report was tabled in Parliament on Monday.

He has stayed away from the media glare and was present in Parliament on Wednesday only at the time of voting on the Adjournment Motion moved by the Opposition National Democratic Alliance.

It is learnt that Mr. Kumar talked to Ms. Dikshit on Thursday morning and informed her about his decision to step down from the position of power in view of the desire expressed by the party.

Later in the day, he sent his resignation to Ms. Dikshit and it was accepted immediately.

Pleads innocence

Mr. Kumar's name has come up time and again during the debate in Parliament with a large number of parties, including the UPA allies and Left parties, pressuring the Government to not only ask Mr. Kumar and Mr. Tytler to quit but also initiate a fresh probe against them in view of the findings of the Commission.

Mr. Tytler and Mr. Kumar have pleaded innocence. In fact, Mr. Kumar has even stated that the lower court in various cases had acquitted him and two of the cases referred by the Commission did not even relate to the 1984 riots.

The Commission sthat probed the Delhi carnage had recommended examination of six cases against Mr. Kumar that were closed as untraced.

Noting that there is "credible material'' against Mr. Kumar for recording a finding that he and another Congress leader Balwan Khokhar were probably involved as alleged by witnesses, it said that in these particular cases no charge sheets were filed.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the Government would take steps for reopening and re-examining specific cases referred to in the Commission's report.

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