Deputy PM Yehia El-Gamal hands in resignation, turned down by Tantawi

Yehia El-Gamal handed in his resignation as deputy prime minister but Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi declined it

An under fire Yehia El-Gamal said Wednesday that he had handed in his resignation as deputy prime minister but General-Commander of the Armed Forces and Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi turned it down.
El-Gamal, subject to repeated calls from many political forces to step down, had his resignation accepted by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf before the de facto president Tantawi decided to retain him in his post.
“He [Sharaf] accepted my resignation after I hardly persuaded him,” El-Gamal said. “He then sent it to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.Later on, Tantawi called me himself to tell me that my resignation had been rejected. I met him today as well, and he reiterated his stance.
“He said the upcoming phase requires sacrifice from everyone and I had no option but appreciate his confidence in me.I also apologised to Essam Sharaf for asking him many times to accept my resignation and piling up pressure on him.”
El-Gamal has been under attack frequently over the past few months as many forces from across the political spectrum believe he is one of the old regime's figures and is out of step with post-revolutionary Egypt.