Not allowed on stage, was humiliated: Nafees Fazal

Former minister Nafees Fazal lodged a complaint with Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar, saying she faced “humiliation” at the ‘Naa Nayaki’ event on Monday.

Fazal, the first female Muslim minister in Karnataka (in the S M Krishna government), said she was not allowed on stage alongside other women leaders at the event in which AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra participated.

In a WhatsApp message to Shivakumar, Fazal stated: “You have reached this position today because of S M Krishna. All former women ministers were invited. Why was I the only one targeted? Was it because I’m a Muslim woman? Don’t consider me as useless. I’m the only Muslim women (sic) in south India who served as minister. As your well-wisher, I didn’t expect humiliation from you.”

Fazal said she was stopped by the police when she wanted to get on the stage.

“The police held my hand and said I did not have permission,” she said. “It was not right for a former Congress minister and senior citizen to be treated that way. All former women ministers were allowed on stage. I don’t know why I was left out and by whom,” she said.

According to Fazal, former minister Umashree had given common passes for the ‘Naa Nayaki’ event. “There was a special pass of which I wasn’t aware. If I was, I’d not have gone towards the stage. It was an insult of sorts,” she said.

“Some people in the party have spread propaganda that I’ve joined the BJP. I still hold primary membership of the Congress,” she said.