Singh resigned today in the wake of a Himachal Pradesh court framing corruption charges against him, the third minister in UPA-II to step down on similar grounds.
Accusing the Prem Kumar Dhumal government of levelling "concocted" charges against him, Singh trained his guns at the Chief Minister, describing him as the "most corrupt and the biggest liar in Himachal Pradesh".
Reacting to Singh's statement, BJP ministers said the allegations levelled by him were not only false but also "cast aspersions on the court" which had framed charges against him.
"The audio CD on which the case was made was released not by BJP but by former Congress minister Vijay Singh Mankotia in May 2007 and the vigilance inquiry was also orderd by the then Congress government," ministers Ishwar Dass Dhiman and Ravinder Singh Ravi said in a joint statement.
The audio CD purportedly contains a conversation between Singh and IAS officer Mohinder Lal during which they allegedly discussed kick-backs from industrialists who wanted to set up shop in the state.
The state unit of BJP also attacked Singh, saying his comments were "ridiculous and downright preposterous".
"The former Union minister has claimed that he resigned on his own on moral grounds. If that is the case, he should also show grace to respectfully accept the verdict of the court," party spokesman Ashok Kapatia said.
