Rudy, 2 others quit govt; more likely to follow
Uma, Nirmala may go; rejig expected tomorrow Pandey is next UP BJP chief
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi all set to go in for a major Cabinet reshuffle and expansion, three ministers are reported to have been asked to step down, while some more are likely to go. The ministers who have so far resigned include Rajiv Pratap Rudy, minister of state for skill development, Mahendra Lal Pandey, HRD minister of state, and Sanjiv Baliyan, MoS for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation.
Speculation was rife that several others, including Uma Bharti, Nirmala Sitharaman, Chowdhury Birendra Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Kalraj Mishra, would also go. There were some indications that civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju and agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh may also be shifted. The Prime Minister is expected to go in for the
◗ Gajapati Raju & Radha Mohan Singh likely to be shifted; Nitin Gadkari might get a bigger role in Team Modi; Kalraj tipped for governor
reshuffle-expansion on Saturday, a day before he leaves India Sunday to attend the Brics summit in China and pay a state visit to Myanmar. Mr Modi will be out of the country till September 7.
Earlier Thursday, the Prime Minister met BJP president Amit Shah to discuss the Cabinet reshuffle. Mr Shah and finance minister Arun Jaitley later met several ministers, including some of those likely to be removed.
The BJP has, incidentally, named Mahendra Nath Pandey as its next state unit chief in Uttar Pradesh, where he will replace Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is also one of UP’s two deputy chief ministers.
Besides bringing in fresh saffron faces into his team, the Prime Minister is likely to include two ministers
Continued from Page 1 from the JD(U) while speculation is rife that the NCP and the AIADMK may also join the Modi government. Minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari is likely to get a larger role. Some ministers, including Mr Kalraj Mishra, could be made governors.
Mr Shah and Mr Jaitley also discussed the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly polls. The Gujarat polls are due to be held by the end of this year and the party will soon launch its poll slogan “Garaje Gujarat”. Mr Shah, it is learnt, will also participate in the Sangh Parivar affiliates’ meeting in Mathura on Saturday evening, where the RSS top brass, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat, will be attending. The three-day Sangh meet will begin from Friday.
During the strategy meeting on Gujarat, the election co-in-charges, including ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Jitendra Singh amd P.P. Chaudhury, state incharge Bhupendra Yadav and state unit chief Jitu Vaghani, were also present. The party has also set a target of “Mission 150” for the 182-member state Assembly. BJP general secretary (organisation) Ramlal joined the meeting later.