Pak-origin UK home secretary Sajid Javid, son of bus driver, joins race to become British PM
London, May 27: Pakistani-origin UK home secretary Sajid Javid on Monday became the ninth contender for the post of British prime minister as he confirmed his intention to contest the Conservative Party leadership race starting next month.
The senior-most minister in the UK Cabinet made the announcement with a video message posted on Twitter, calling for people to join Team Saj .
"I'm standing to be the next leader of Conservatives & Prime Minister of our great country," read his statement.
"We need to restore trust, bring unity and create new opportunities across the UK. First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit. Join Team Saj to help me do just that," he said.
Javid, 49, becomes the latest candidate to throw their hat in the ring to enter Downing Street since Theresa May announced her intention to step down as Conservative leader and therefore as British PM on June 7.
A formal Tory party election process will kick off from June 10, with former foreign secretary Boris Johnson seen as a frontrunner for the PM post.
Others in the fray include Cabinet ministers Michael Gove, Rory Stewart, Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock and former ministers Dominic Raab, Esther McVey and Andrea Leadsom.
With the European Parliament election results throwing up a massive bruising for the Conservative Party and major wins for the newly-formed Brexit Party, all the leadership contenders are expected to focus all their attention on the delivery mechanism for Britain's exit from the European Union (EU).
"Hugely disappointing results but this is a verdict on our delivery of Brexit. There's a clear lesson: people want us to get on with it. Not another election or referendum asking if changed their mind. We'll need to unite as a party to deliver that. There are no other options," said Javid, who often highlights his humble roots as the son of Pakistani migrants whose father was a bus driver.
The investment banker-turned-politician has also found strong backing from within the British-Indian community and most recently called for closer India-UK ties at the annual Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) event.
"The new (post-Brexit) immigration system will be a skills-based system, which means it will not be based on nationality. It means that we will be even more open once we have left the EU to welcome even more of India's brightest and best," he said earlier this month.
Javid will now go head to head with the other contenders within the party before the list is whittled down by party MPs down to two that will clash in a vote put to the wider Tory membership from across the UK.
The winner of the vote is expected to take charge as Tory leader and the new British PM in July.
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Defeat of Constitution Amendment Bill betrayal of nation's woman power: Adityanath
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of seats of the Lok Sabha "betrayal of the woman power" of the nation.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on Friday.
In a post on X in Hindi, late on Friday night, Adityanath said, "Today, a dark chapter has been added to the history of India's great democracy. The Opposition's obstruction of the passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill essential for the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' is a blow to the honour of 'Bharat Mata' (Mother India). It is a betrayal of the entire woman power of the nation; it is an infringement upon their democratic rights.
"The Congress-led 'INDI' alliance has exposed its anti-women mindset. The women of the nation are watching and understanding everything. They will remember this deceit and injustice, and when the time comes, they will surely give a reply. Under the leadership of our Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, the NDA alliance will continue its unwavering efforts to protect the honour, dignity, and rights of women, and to ensure their empowerment."
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill in the Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. The Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
This was for the first time that a Bill under the Modi government was defeated in Parliament.
