"No Plan To Allow Muslim Staff To Leave Early During Ramzan": Karnataka Minister

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said that there was no proposal before the government, nor had any discussion taken place, regarding allowing Muslim government employees to leave work early during Ramzan.

He was responding to a question on state Congress vice-presidents Y Syed Ahmed and A R M Hussain's petition to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to allow all Muslim government employees to leave work early during Ramzan.

"They would have written a letter, but there is no such proposal before the government. No such discussions have happened either at the cabinet or otherwise," Parameshwara said.

Responding to such permission in Telangana being criticised by BJP as appeasement politics, he said, "We are not concerned about Telangana." The petition seeks the CM to decide so that Muslim staff can leave work by 4 pm to break their fast, citing governments in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana deciding to allow Muslim employees to leave work an hour early during Ramzan.

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka hit out at the ruling Congress, calling the proposal by its leaders to the government as appeasement politics.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)