Official reports have revealed that an anticipated Belgian Parliament vote on banning wearing the Islamic burqa in public Thursday was disrupted when the country's coalition government collapsed.

Prime Minister Yves Leterme tendered his resignation after a key Flemish party member quit the 5-month-old coalition, throwing the government into crisis slightly more than two months before the country takes over the rotating EU presidency.

Voice of America has reported that it was not immediately clear if Belgian King Albert II would accept Leterme's resignation,.

It was further reported that the Belgian Federal Parliament was expected to approve a law banning burqas after a parliamentary committee unanimously recommended a nationwide ban on clothes, including veils that prevent wearers from being fully identified.

It would have been the first clampdown of its kind on the Continent.

It was further noted by the report that a burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions for the purpose of hiding their body in public.

The ban, which some legal scholars said might be unconstitutional, would also apply to niqabs, veils that cover the face as part of a head covering worn by some traditional Muslim women.

According to the reports of CNN, French-speaking liberal Reformist lawmaker Denis Ducarme, who drafted the measure, rejected suggestions the legislation smacks of intolerance, saying it is the burqa and "the Islamic movement" that are truly intolerant and dangerous.

The New York Times also reported that he further added that he was "proud that Belgium would be the first country in Europe which dares to legislate on this sensitive matter." (With Inputs from Agencies)