The state government has appointed retired police officer Abdul Azeem as the chairperson of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission.
Azeem’s appointment comes months after the appointment of another cop-turned-politician G A Bava of the Congress to the same post was abruptly put on hold.
Azeem, a former MLC, served as the state general secretary of JD(S) until 2014 before joining BJP. He is seen as the BJP’s Muslim face in Karnataka. In May this year, the JD(S)-Congress coalition government had appointed Bava as the head of the minorities commission. However, owing to dissent within the party, his appointment was put on hold.
In an order issued by the state government on October 15, the government officially quashed the previous appointment of Bava.