UP minister Avadh pal Singh Yadav on Wednesday tendered his resignation following his indictment by the Lokayukta, who had recommended his dismissal on corruption and criminal charges.
The minister, who held the animal husbandry and daily development portfolio, submitted his resignation to chief minister Mayawati who has forwarded it to the governor for necessary action.
Mr Yadav, who is the BSP MLA from Aliganj Assembly segment in Etah district, was summoned by the chief minister on Wednesday morning after which he returned home and sent in his papers.
A press release by the BSP, however, said that the minister had resigned in order to pave the way for an impartial probe into the charges against him.
The minister, it may be recalled was indicted by Lokayukta N.K. Mehrotra on Tuesday. The Lokayukta had found him guilty of corruption and crime which included his involvement in a triple murder case in Etah.
The local court in Etah had earlier asked the police to lodge an FIR against the minister and his kin in the same case but the state government defended him.
The Monsoon Session of the UP Assembly had to be adjourned earlier than schedule because the Opposition sought the removal of the minister and did not allow the house to function.
The minister remained defiant and announced in the house that he would not resign on the issue.
Mr Yadav is the sixth minister in the Mayawati government to have resigned in disgrace.
Mr Anand Sen Yadav had to resign from his ministerial post after he was found to be involved in the abduction and murder of his pregnant girlfriend Shashi in November 2007. Another minister, Jamuna Prasad Nishad, had to resign and was later arrested for creating mayhem at a police station with his supporters in which one constable was shot dead.