Zameer seeks Rs 500 cr for minorities; CM may not agree

Looks like Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has not entirely forgiven his friend-turned-foe B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.

It is learnt that Kumaraswamy is in no mood to accommodate Khan’s demand for additional allocation for the Minority Welfare and Wakf departments in the upcoming budget.

On Tuesday, Khan, accompanied by Muslim leaders like Rahman Khan, U T Khader and Naseer Ahmed, met Kumaraswamy and presented a wishlist. They sought Rs 500 crore additional allocation for the departments.

However, Kumaraswamy is unlikely to heed the request. Sources said Kumaraswamy is upset with Khan for convening a meeting of all Muslim leaders on Monday evening, without consulting him.

Kumaraswamy is also irked by Khan’s attempts to project himself as a state-level Muslim leader, sources said.

The chief minister and Khan had a fallout in 2016, when the latter defected to the Congress.

However, during the formation of the coalition government, Kumaraswamy himself had sought out Khan and the two had agreed to let bygones be bygones.

But Khan’s association with former chief minister Siddaramaiah has also come as a bother to Kumaraswamy. For, Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah have been locked in shadow-boxing ever since the government was formed.

After his meeting with Kumaraswamy, Khan told reporters that though he had sought a 10% increase in allocation in the budget, it was an unlikely possibility.