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News of Jan
2 2007
Minister Quits after Kumaraswamy
Doesn't Attend Eid Prayers
Bangalore, Jan 2
Karnataka Minister for Wakf and Haj Affairs Zameer Ahmed Tuesday
resigned to protest Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy staying away
from the Eid-ul-Zuha prayers at the Idgah Maidan here. Ahmed gave
his resignation letter to Governor T.N. Chaturvedi at the Raj Bhavan
here.
"The governor said he would forward the letter to the chief
minister. As I have said Monday after the Eid prayers, I have
decided to quit the ministry on principle since the chief minister
has hurt the minority community by deliberately keeping away from
our gathering despite assurances to the contrary," Ahmed told
reporters.
However, he said he was willing to withdraw his resignation if
Kumaraswamy apologized to the minority community for not
participating in the prayer meeting where about 25,000 Muslims had
gathered. The Idgah Maidan is in Chamrajpet, the assembly
constituency represented by him as a Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)
legislator.
"It is not my honor or prestige at stake but that of minorities in
the state. The chief minister was not only informed about the
programme eight days ago, but also invited to grace the occasion
personally by me Monday morning at his residence," Ahmed said.
Accusing the chief minister of neglecting the minorities, Ahmed said
he would continue to be a legislator and fight for the welfare of
his community while remaining in the party.
"I am resigning from the ministry only and not as legislator or from
the party. It is now up to the chief minister to apologize to our
community for breaking the tradition of attending the Eid prayers if
he is keen on retaining me in the ministry," Ahmed pointed out.
Ahmed was elected from the Chamrajpet assembly segment in a
by-election that was held in June 2005 after former chief minister
S.M. Krishna resigned following his appointment as Maharashtra
governor in December 2004.
An influential transport operator and one-time buddy of Kumaraswamy,
Ahmed was one of the key players in revolting against the then
Congress-led government in January 2006 that led to the formation of
the present coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
IANS News of Jan
2 2007
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