Karnataka deputy chief minister should be Muslim, demands Waqf board chief

Muslim leaders from the Sunni Ulma Board on Sunday said that Karnataka’s deputy chief minister’s post should be allotted to one of the winning candidates from their community. They have also demanded that five Muslim MLAs must be made ministers with good portfolios like Home, Revenue, Health and other departments.

“We already said before the elections that the deputy chief minister should be a Muslim and that 30 seats be given to us... We got 15, and nine Muslim candidates have won. In about 72 constituencies, the Congress won purely because of the Muslims. We, as a community, have given a lot to the Congress. Now it's time we get something in return. We want a Muslim deputy chief minister and five ministers with good portfolios like Home, Revenue, and Education. It's the responsibility of the Congress to thank us with this. We held an emergency meeting in the Sunni Ulma board office to ensure all these are implemented," Waqf Board chairman Shafi Sadi said.

However, he said it is irrelevant which of the nine candidates is chosen for these positions.

“That will be decided by the Congress based on who has worked well and is a good candidate. Many Muslim candidates have also visited other constituencies and canvassed there, ensuring Hindu-Muslim unity, sometimes leaving their constituency behind. So they have a key role in the Congress's victory. They have to have an ideal Deputy CM from the Muslim community. It is their responsibility,” Sadi added.

The leaders reaffirmed that they had made this demand before the elections. “It must happen for sure. It was our demand before the elections itself. It must be fulfilled. We are only asking for a Deputy CM to be the Muslim. Ideally, it should be a Muslim CM because Karnataka has never had one in its history, and 90 lakh people in the state are Muslims. We are the largest minority community apart from the SCs. We didn't get the 30+ seats we wanted. But we at least want five Muslim ministers like during SM Krishna's period and now a Deputy CM. That's what we want,” he said.

Meanwhile, the consolidation of Muslim votes, which make up nearly 13 per cent of the state's electorate, seems to have worked in favour of the Congress. The party has promised to restore a four per cent quota for Muslims, which the erstwhile BJP government scrapped. The Congress handed over tickets to 15 Muslim candidates and nine of them emerged victorious.

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