BANGALORE, (PTI): Railway minister C.K.Jaffer Sharicf, who was reportedly unhappy over the handling of the Ayodhya issue, Jan.10 said he was not resigning from the union ministry.
The question of my tendering resignation on the decision of the Muslim personal law board (ULEMA) does not arise at all,’ Sharief told PTI here.
The communal frenzy following the Ayodhya developments was not due to clash between two communities but because of police excesses, he claimed.
The minister said he was in the union cabinet by virtue of being a congressman and not on the Ulema’s mandate.
Sharief said he would discuss with prime minister Narasimha Rao the demand of the minority community to refer the Ayodhya tangle to the supreme court under article 138 (2). (The center at present has referred the dispute under article 143).
The minister said he would also meet Ulema leaders during his visit to Delhi.
He said the Congress party had a long history of maintaining the country’s secular character and still possessed the vitality to fight communal and divisive forces, trying to undermine the nation’s unity and integrity.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 15, 1993
