In a major development, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar resigned from the Modi government ahead of mega cabinet expansion on Wednesday. Javadekar was serving as Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change; Information & Broadcasting including Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
Apart from Javadekar, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank are among the top politicians who resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet on Wednesday. The resignations came hours before a major expansion and reshuffle of his Council of Ministers in which 43 new members will take oath.
Modi Cabinet Expansion 2021 | Full Coverage
The President of India accepted resignation of 12 members of the Council of Ministers including IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank and others.
Other ministers who have tendered their resignation include DV Sadananda Gowda, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Babul Supriyo, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Rattan Lal Kataria, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, and Debasree Chaudhuri.
The expansion exercise is scheduled to be held at 6 pm at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Amid the buzz that Modi may also drop some ministers, Union minister Santosh Gangwar has quit.
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This will be the first reshuffle in his Council of Ministers by Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019. The prime minister is expected to bring in young faces and give representation to various social groups and regions in the reshuffle.