Ravi Shankar Prasad, Javadekar, Vardhan, Pokhriyal, 8 other ministers resign before Cabinet rejig

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 7

President Ram Nath Kovind, as advised by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has accepted the resignation 12 members of the Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, a release said. 

They include senior ministers like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh Pokhriyal and Harsh Vardhan.

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Those whose resignations have been accepted are: D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Prakash Javadekar, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Babul Supriyo, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Rattan Lal Kataria, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Debasree Chaudhuri.

Sources say the resignations are a result of the PM's review of their ministries.

BJP sources say that PM Modi is sending a "message" through these resignations, that he wants to make critical changes in key ministries before 2024.

With changes in the ministries, PM Modi is creating a new set of leaders and a bench strength, they say.