Hafiz Amjad, Manippady resign

Karnataka State Urdu Academy chairman Hafiz Amjad Karnataki and Karnataka State Minorities Commission Chairman resigned from their respective posts on November 19. The resignation followed defeat of the Bhartiya Janata Party in the Assembly election held on May 5 and swearing in of the Congress government in the State on May 15. Hafiz Amjad, an Urdu poet, who runs several educational institutions in Shimoga had been at the helms for over two years. He was close to former chief minister Mr. Yeddyurappa who also hailed from Shikaripur in the same district. Anwar Manippady, an RSS activist from Mangalore district, said though his tenure would end on November 26, he was resigning following instructions from outgoing Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar. Manippady recounted the Commission’s achievements during his tenure which included presentation of a nearly 700-page report on Wakf Scam alleging grabbing of wakf land by Muslim legislators belonging to the Congress and the Janata Dal Secular in the state to the tune of Rs. two lakh crore. Manippady became controversial due to his CBI style raid on the Muslim Orphanage and a Trust office situated on the wakf land in Shivajinagar in Bangalore.