UNITED KINGDOM: Indian origin Rishi Sunak might be the first Indian to be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK). He was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer, back in February 2020 by Boris Johnson in his cabinet.
Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid, Liz Truss, Nadhim Zahawi, and Penny Mordaunt are the five speculated contenders for the next UK Prime Minister.
This development comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign, ending an unprecedented political crisis, as per reports from British media.
Sunak’s resignation as Chancellor of the exchequer triggered an inundation of resignations against Boris Johnson, It is believed that he resigned to be a contender for the next UK Prime Minister.
Sunak, 42 is married to Akshtha Murty, daughter of Narayan Murthy (Chairman of Infosys). He has two daughters with her. He came to the limelight during the pandemic after creating a massive package deal of more than ten billion pounds to help businesses recover from losses.
He was caught on back foot following his wife’s non-dom tax status. Non-domicile, or non-dom, is a British tax status that has been available since the French revolution. It allows a person who was born in another country, or if their parent is from another country, to pay tax in the UK only on their UK income.
Apart from that, he was fined by the Brtish Government for defying covid lockdown norms and participating in a Downing Street gathering.
The political crisis in the United Kingdom is exploding with reports saying, Boris Johnson will announce his resignation as the leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday, 7 July, but he continues to be the prime minister till October.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak caused the stir of resignations of 40 people from Jhonson’s government that have completely shaken the administration.
The latest resignations in the thread of resignations have come from the UK education minister and the UK Northern Ireland Secretary.
After he resigns, it is most likely that Dominic Raab would become the interim PM. Raab, is currently the deputy prime minister and the justice minister in UK government.
Also Read: UK PM Boris Johnson to Resign Today
