New Delhi: Karnataka's Minister for Wakf Board and Haj Affairs, Zameer Ahmed, has submitted his resignation to the Governor, T N Chaturvedi, saying that the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had no concern for Muslims.
He said that the party has been neglecting the minorities and that the Chief Minister failed to attend Bakr-Eid prayers on Monday.
Ahmed said that the wanted the Chief Minister to apologise publicly.
Khan, a one-time close associate of the Chief Minister whose relations with him had turned sour in recent months, said he would not resign from his Assembly membership.
I am resigning because H D Kumaraswamy has been neglecting our community. How can I be with him if he does so? However, I am not resigning from party or from the MLA post. I am simply giving up my ministership," he said.
Despite the protest registered by Ahmed, Kumaraswamy did not seem overtly concerned about the move and the resignation itself comes amidst reports that the Chief Minister was considering of dropping Khan from the ministry.
Earlier, speaking to reporters after meeting the Governor, Kumaraswamy said attending Eid prayers was not on his official programme on Monday.
Asked if he would try to persuade Khan to withdraw the resignation, he said, "I have not committed any blunder that warrants it" but added "hasty decision (on Khan's part) would not be appropriate."
Dismissing Khan's accusation that he lacked concern for Muslims, Kumaraswamy said his announcement about granting five acres for "Haj Bhavan," which was hanging fire for long, itself showed the thinking of the JDS-BJP government which had also initiated several welfare measures for minorities.
(With inputs from PTI)
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