BHOPAL, Aug 23: Firebrand Hindu hardliner Uma Bharti resigned on Monday as chief minister of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh after facing arrest over a 10-year-old riot case, officials said.
Bharti, who dresses in saffron robes and is known for her fiery speeches, submitted her resignation to Madhya Pradesh governor Balram Jhakhar even as police from neighbouring Karnataka state were on their way to Bhopal with a warrant for her arrest, they said.
Her resignation comes less than 10 months after she led her Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to victory in state elections. Earlier, 43-year-old Bharti had called a cabinet meeting at her home to announce her resignation.
"Bharti did not want to remain chief minister and had expressed her desire that her successor be administered the oath of office and immediately after she handed over her resignation to the governor," state Energy Minister Anup Mishra told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
A court in the southern state of Karnataka last week issued an arrest warrant in her name for defying a curfew in 1994 and attempting to hoist India's national flag at a prayer ground in Karnataka that is disputed by Hindus and Muslims.
The incident sparked violence and five people were killed when police fired to disperse clashing mobs. Bharti is the main accused in the case. The latest warrant was the 19th in the past 10 years.
Bharti's supporters claim the Karnataka government - run by a coalition led by the BJP's main rival, India's ruling Congress party - was indulging in vindictive politics by seeking her arrest.
In New Delhi, the row surrounding Bharti rocked both houses of parliament Monday, forcing them to be adjourned. Opposition BJP MPs protesting the warrant against Bharti also demanded the resignation of some federal ministers in the Congress government. -AFP
