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Bihar minister resigns, quits JD (U)

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Satyavrat Mishra Patna
Last Updated : Feb 04 2014 | 10:08 PM IST
In a major setback to Janata Dal (United) and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Social Welfare Minister Parveen Amanullah, a prominent Muslim leader, resigned from the cabinet and the party.

"I have sent my resignation to the Chief Minister," told the minister, "I spoke to him around noon today and he told to do what I want to do." Parveen said she had made up her mind to resign as minister sometimes back. "But, after the Rajya Sabha elections ended I decided to proceed." However, she refused to disclose the reasons behind her sudden resignation, but hinted at her anger against the system that prevented her from performing as per her desire. She also insisted that she did not have any grudge against the chief minister and other ministerial colleagues. The minister said she would return to social work, her passion for a long time. Her decision came just months before the Lok Sabha elections.

She did not rule out possibility of joining another political party soon and contest the upcoming elections. "At this juncture, I cannot say much. There are many options today. I would like to study their ideologies first. I may inform about it soon," she said. Asked if resignation from JD (U) indicated she considers the party a "sinking ship", she answered in the negative. "My good wishes are with JD (U)," she said.

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Parveen Amanullah said she would also resign as MLA. Her resignation does not augur well for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is already running the government on a fringe minority of 118 MLAs. Kumar's government is surviving with the support of four legislators of Congress, as many Independents and one CPI. The JD (U) will now be left with 117 MLAs including Speaker Udai Narain Chaudhary in the 238-member house.

Parveen, who is wife of senior bureaucrat Afzal Amanullah, currently Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Her husband served as Home Secretary during Kumar's first tenure as chief minister starting 2005. She is daughter of former diplomat Syed Shahabuddin, a prominent leader of 'Babri Masjid Action committee'. Parveen won the 2010 Assembly elections from Sahebpur Kalam constituency in Begusarai district.

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First Published: Feb 04 2014 | 8:11 PM IST

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