I was planning to quit on Jan 15: Deputy CM Beig

Jammu, Jan 14 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig today said he had planned to resign from the post tomorrow as he had been feeling ''suffocated in the system''.

Discontented Mr Beig, who had rejoined the Cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister on December 10, expressed the thoughts before Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the floor of the Legislative Assembly.

''I feel suffocated being in this system,'' said Mr Beig, asserting that he was waiting to discuss about his resignation with PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

He was speaking in the Lower House, which was witnessing ruckus after a sitting MLA alleged on Friday that a Minister had taken a bribe of Rs 40,000 from him to clear his sister's file.

''I kept thinking on the issue for about three hours last night and had decided to quit,'' said Mr Beig, praising Chief Minister for his ''consistent efforts'' to ''fight corruption'' in the state.

On Opposition's allegation that corruption had increased in the present regime, Mr Beig said: ''It was there, it is there and will remain there.'' He described the politics as a coal mine, saying, ''You may be clean enough but mere passing through it ('Koyle Ki Khan') can also put a stain.'' UNI VJ KD BST2031