Mangaluru, KARNATAKA :

His appointment by Cong. is seen as an effort to soothe feelings of Muslims

Close on the heels of senior leader C.M. Ibrahim announcing his departure from the party, the Congress on Sunday appointed leader from coastal Karnataka U.T. Khader as Deputy Leader of the party in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

While Siddaramaiah became the Congress Legislature Party leader and Leader of the Opposition since the fall of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition, the position of his deputy had remained vacant. Mr. Khader’s appointment comes in the light of internal rumblings among Muslim legislators that the community leaders were being ignored in the party platform when it came for distribution of power.

With just over a year away from the Assembly polls, the party has been making crucial appointments keeping caste and regional demands. While KPCC is helmed by D.K. Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, the party appointed M.B. Patil, a Lingayat leader from north Karnataka as the chairman of the campaign committee.

Both Mr. Siddaramaiah and newly appointed Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council B.K. Hariprasad belong to backward classes. MLC Saleem Ahmed was one of the four working presidents appointed recently to balance caste and community equations.

Party sources said Mr. Khader’s appointment to the post served the representation to Muslims as well as coastal Karnataka, and that the appointment comes as a damage control exercise after the outbursts of Mr. Ibrahim when he announced that he is set to quit the party and resign from his membership from the Council. Mr. Khader is a senior leader and gets along well with everyone in the party, the sources said.

As Mr. Ibrahim continued his tirade against Congress leaders in Hubballi on Sunday, Janata Dal (Secular) sources said the leader was expected to join the party shortly.

When JD(S) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy met the veteran Congress leader, the former is learnt to have offered the party president post or head of the campaign committee.

Meanwhile, a congregation of several community leaders that met here on Sunday, under the leadership of Amir e Shariat Moulana Sageer Ahmed Khan to discuss the recent Naragund incident, also discussed political representation for the community.

“The meeting did not discuss about any one party or individual. The community has concerns that were communicated,” Moulana Shabeer Ahmed Nadvi told The Hindu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – January 30th, 2022