Haryana Women’s Commission Chairperson Renu Bhatia resigns amid controversy over remarks on nurses

3 min readChandigrahJun 10, 2026 02:49 PM IST

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Bhatia requested that her resignation be accepted. (Credit- Facebook/Renu Bhatia)

Following a controversy over her alleged remarks and an ongoing agitation by nurses in Haryana demanding her apology and resignation, Haryana State Commission for Women Chairperson Renu Bhatia on Tuesday resigned from her post.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Bhatia requested that her resignation be accepted. However, she did not specify any reason for stepping down. Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said that her resignation had not been accepted till late Tuesday evening.

“I have performed my duties as Chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women with dedication and honesty during my tenure of approximately four and a half years. For this, I express my gratitude to former Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar Ji and current Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Nayab Singh Saini Ji,” Bhatia wrote in her resignation letter.

She further stated: “I assure you that I will always continue to fight for the rights and dignity of women. If I am appointed to any position in the future, I will discharge its responsibilities with the same dedication and honesty.”

Bhatia’s resignation comes amid an ongoing protest by nurses at Kurukshetra’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Civil Hospital. On Monday, nursing staff observed a two-hour pen-down strike to protest against remarks allegedly made by Bhatia during her visit to the hospital on Sunday in connection with a sexual assault case.

Bhatia had visited the hospital after a 62-year-old consultant doctor posted there, was charged and later arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl on the hospital premises.

Agitating nurses alleged that Bhatia blamed them for negligence and accused that some members of the nursing staff could have been complicit in the incident. They maintained that it was unfair to level such allegations without a proper investigation and demanded an apology from the Commission chairperson.

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The Haryana State Commission for Women had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault case and sought an action-taken report from the authorities.

Meanwhile, sources close to Bhatia claimed that her resignation was unrelated to the nurses’ agitation. According to them, she resigned due to family reasons and is expected to travel to the United States for about three months.