Rajasthan minister Babu Lal Nagar (53) resigned on Thursday, two days after police filed a case against him for allegedly raping a 27-year-old woman at his official residence here last week.

His exit indicated a damage-control exercise by the Congress government in the state, where Assembly elections are scheduled for November.

Nagar said he resigned to facilitate an impartial probe. “Nobody asked me to resign. I have resigned on moral grounds to enable an impartial probe,” Nagar told mediapersons after sending his resignation to the chief minister’s office.

He said the allegations were part of a political conspiracy. “I won elections thrice and would have won again. But people who wanted to target me politically got this woman to accuse me of a horrible crime like rape,” he said.

Nagar, a first-time minister, represents the Dudu Assembly seat in Jaipur district.