Bihar's first Muslim woman minister resigns, may join AAP

Bihar's Social Welfare Minister Perween Amanullah, the first Muslim woman minister in the state, Tuesday resigned from the cabinet and the JD-U. A leader close to her said she may join the Aam Aadmi Party and contest the Lok Sabha polls.

"I have resigned from the cabinet and the Janata Dal-United and sent the resignation letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar," Amanullah, in her early 50s, told media persons here.

State JD-U president Vashisht Narain Singh requested Amanullah to reconsider her decision.

"I will appeal to Amanullah to take back her resignation. I will be a happy man if she reconsiders her decision," Singh told IANS here.

Singh, considered close to Nitish Kumar, said Amanullah's grievances can be sorted out.

"She can meet the chief minister to discuss her grievances. It is not an issue," he said.

Amanullah refused to disclose the reasons behind her decision to quit the cabinet and party, but only hinted at her anger against the system that prevented her from functioning as per her desire.

The daughter of diplomat-turned-politician Syed Shahabuddin and wife of IAS officer Afzal Amanullah, she did not rule out the possibility of joining another political party and contest the Lok Sabha polls.

"I may inform about it soon," she said.

A JD-U leader close to Amanullah said she may join the Aam Aadmi Party to contest the general election.

"Some senior AAP leaders approached her and asked her to join the party. She has taken a big risk by resigning from the cabinet and JD-U. It seems certain that she has made up her mind to be part of the AAP," the leader said.

He said Amanullah was eyeing the Kishanganj parliamentary seat.

In 2009, she was keen to contest from Kishanganj as the JD-U candidate but was denied a ticket. Her father had won from the seat in the 1990s.

Amanullah said she was open to returning to social work again. She was an RTI activist before 2010.

In the 2010 assembly polls, she had won from Sahebpur Kamal, a Muslim-dominated constituency in Begusarai district.