New Delhi| It does not happen that seven cabinet ministers are removed from the Union Cabinet in one stroke. But Wednesday was one such day when several veteran ministers were dropped from key departments due to major surgery in the Narendra Modi government. Most of these resignations were unexpected and not part of the usual speculation that a cabinet reshuffle takes place.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was in the firing line due to the alleged mismanagement of the second wave of Covid, as lakhs of lives were lost.
Harsh Vardhan was widely criticized for the ensuing position, as the health ministry is seen as the nodal ministry for managing the COVID situation and vaccine administration.
Senior ministers include Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Labor and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwar have also resigned.
Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Information and Broadcasting and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar have also tendered their resignations, while Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot has been appointed as the Governor of Karnataka.
A statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan said that a total of 12 ministers have resigned from the Modi government and President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted their resignations.
The ministers of state who resigned are Debashree Choudhary (Women and Child Development), Ratan Lal Kataria (Jal Shakti and Social Justice and Empowerment), Sanjay Dhotre (Education), Pratap Chandra Sarangi (Animal Husbandry), Babul Supriyo (Environment) and Raosaheb Danve Patil (Animal Husbandry). consumer affairs, food and public distribution).
