Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigns as Union Minister of Minority Affairs
Reports suggest that PM Modi thanked Naqvi for his contributions to the country's progress. According to media reports, the BJP may choose Naqvi as its vice presidential candidate for the August elections or nominate him for governor/lieutenant governor of a state or union territory.
FollowMukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday resigned as Union Minister of Minority Affairs. He submited his resignation to PM Modi, a day ahead when his Rajya Sabha term gets over. The news comes as his Rajya Sabha stint comes to an end on July 7.
Reports suggest that PM Modi thanked Naqvi on Wednesday for his contributions to the country's progress. According to media sources, the BJP may choose Naqvi as its vice presidential candidate for the August elections or nominate him for governor/lieutenant governor of a state or union territory.
Naqvi spoke with BJP president JP Nadda before resigning from PM Modi, prompting further speculation. He was the only other minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led-BJP cabinet besides Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
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The ruling party has been debating appointing a member of a minority community to the second highest constitutional office, especially given the BJP's extraordinary outcry after suspended spokeswoman Nupur Sharma's statements against the Prophet Muhammad.
After Naqvi's term in Rajya Sabha expires, the BJP would have no Muslim representation in Parliament. Syed Zafar Islam and MJ Akbar are two other sitting Rajya Sabha MPs from the saffron party whose terms expired in June and July. Islam's term expired on July 4, while Akbar departed on June 29.
The tenure of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu expires on August 10. The deadline for Vice President nominations is July 19. The elections will take place on August 6th. Three Muslim names have sparked conjecture in political circles: Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, and former Union minister Najma Heptulla. Captain Amrinder Singh is the ruling alliance's fourth most probable candidate.
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