Antulay neither confirms nor denies sending resignation to PM

Zeenews Bureau New Delhi, Dec 19:

Union Minister AR Antulay, who is at the centre of a storm triggered by his remarks on the circumstances surrounding Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare's killing, has sent his resignation to Prime Minister MAnmohan Singh, highly placed sources said on Friday.
79-year-old Antulay, whose remarks created uproar in Parliament and outside with the Opposition parties demanding his removal, had sent his resignation on Wednesday night, they said. When contacted, Antulay today declined to comment, saying "I am neither confirming it nor denying it". His resignation was expected as he had been defiant over his stand and said that he had not met neither the PM nor Sonia Gandhi and even retorted that he owed explanation to none. The open defiance by a senior member of the cabinet has turned out to be a major embarrassment for the government when it is going all out to tackle terror. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha yesterday that government will respond to the Antulay remarks in this session itself. Congress had steered itself clear from the controversy by claiming that the remarks are Antulay’s personal opinion and neither the party nor the government subscribes to them. Even Maharashtra’s newly appointed Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has gone on record to rebut any possibility of foul play in Hemant Karkare’s death and made it clear that there would be no probe into this matter. The whole controversy erupted with Antulay, while taking to reporters outside Parliament, suspecting the truth behind Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare’s killing during the Mumbai attacks. His divisive statement on such a sensitive issue sent ripples across the nation, with the Opposition seeking a clarification from none other than the Prime Minister itself. Antualy had on Wednesday said, “There is more than what meets the eyes. Karkare was investigating some cases in which there are non-Muslims also,” an apparent reference to the Malegaon blasts case in which sadhvi Pragya Thakur and a Lt Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit were 11 persons to be arrested. "Superficially speaking, they (terrorists) had no reason to kill Karkare. Whether he (Karkare) was a victim of terrorism or terrorism plus something, I do not know," he added.

What? Sack Antulay? No way. Congress is going all out to get the Muslim vote and in no way will they rankle Muslim feelings. Hindu feelings, they know, can be taken for granted, as Rajasthan and Delhi proved.