NEW DELHI: In what is being viewed as a show of protest over his not getting back the Railway portfolio, senior Congress leader and Minister without portfolio C.K. Jaffer Sharief has resigned from the Union Cabinet.
His resignation handed in on November 13 has been accepted by President Shanker Dayal Sharma on the advice of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, according to a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique.
Mr. Sharief who is in his hometown of Bangalore said he had written out his resignation on November 3 itself. He maintained that his resignation was not an act of defiance, but took an oblique dig at Mr. Rao’s leadership, saying the Congress had given a goby to aggressive secularism” that was being practiced during the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi,
Mr. Sharief said he did not have any ‘grouse against the Prime Minister but conceded that he and Mr, Rao differed on certain political issues.
He said he had no weakness for office and resigned because he didn’t want to be a “burden on the exchequer without doing any work.” The Congress veteran from Kamataka who has time and again played the “Muslim card” to gain political mileage said the minorities in the country were concerned about their safety, dignity and honor after the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
There is no point saying something, for the sake of it. The Prime Minister or the Home Minister or those at the helm should address themselves to the issue of building confidence among the minorities. That is where aggressive secularism is required, he remarked.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 1, 1995
