New Delhi President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday accepted the resignations of Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh.
Both Naqvi and Singh Resigned a day before the completion of the term of Rajya Sabha.
According to a correspondence released by Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Minister of Women and Child Development in the Union Cabinet of India, Smriti Zubin Irani has been given the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
Apart from this, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has been given the charge of the Ministry of Steel.
According to the Rashtrapati Bhavan statement, “…as advised by the Prime Minister, the President has directed that Cabinet Minister Smriti Zubin Irani be given the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs in addition to her existing portfolio.”
Earlier, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Steel Minister RCP Singh have submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, a day before the completion of the Rajya Sabha term, government sources said on Wednesday.
This is the first time that two sitting ministers are out of both houses of Parliament.
Senior BJP leader Naqvi is also the Deputy Leader of Rajya Sabha. With Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigning on Wednesday and his Rajya Sabha term ending a day later, there will be no Muslim face in and between the Union Council of Ministers. BJPof 395 Members of Parliament.
RCP Singh is a minister in Modi cabinet from JD(U) quota.
Recently, several BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were elected to the Rajya Sabha. However, the party did not give a Rajya Sabha ticket to Naqvi. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar ruled out the election of RCP Singh to the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier in the day, Modi had lauded both Naqvi and Singh for their contribution to the country during their tenures, a clear suggestion of this being their last cabinet meeting, sources said.