NEW DELHI, July 6: The union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, whose term as a member of the Rajya Sabha ends on Thursday, resigned from the Narendra Modi cabinet on Wednesday amidst reports that the NDA may nominate him to run for the vice-presidential elections.
He was not re-nominated for the Upper House during the recent elections. Before submitting his resignation Naqvi had called on Modi and the BJP national president JP Nadda on Wednesday morning.
So far Naqvi along with defence minister Rajnath Singh were the only two ministers in Modi’s cabinet who were also in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led-BJP government. The ruling party has been discussing a representative of a minority community for the second highest constitutional post, especially at a time the BJP is facing an unprecedented backlash over the Prophet Muhammad comments by suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
M Venkaiah Naidu’s term as Vice President ends on August 10. July 19 is the last date for nominations for Vice President. The elections will be held on August 6.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, former Union Minister Najma Heptulla and former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh are also in the running, reports say. The BJP has named Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, as its presidential candidate. The NDA has enough numbers to have its candidates elected to the two posts.
(Manas Dasgupta)