President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras from the Union Council of Ministers with immediate effect, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Wednesday, March 20.
“The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution,” read the official statement.
“Further, as advised by the Prime Minister, the President has directed that Shri Kiren Rijiju, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in addition to his existing portfolio,” it added.
Paras resigned as the Union Minister on Tuesday, accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of doing "injustice" to his party by excluding it from the seat-sharing deal with other NDA allies for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.
His exit from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came after the ruling alliance announced a seat-sharing pact on Monday and gave five seats to the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas) in Bihar.
Without elaborating on his plans, Paras said he was thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and added that he served the NDA with honesty and loyalty but received injustice.
"Injustice has been meted out to my party and especially me," PTI quoted Paras as saying.
After a mid-term reshuffle, Paras joined the PM Modi-led Union Cabinet as Minister of Food Processing Industries in July 2021.
Post his resignation, a BJP leader indicated that the NDA was willing to accommodate him respectably in some other manner but it cannot accommodate other RLJP MPs. However, Paras was keen to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, opening the prospect of a tie-up with the Opposition parties in Bihar.
Shravan Agarwal, a spokesperson from the RLSP, said party leaders will soon decide its future course of action. However, it was made clear that Paras will contest the general elections.
The seven-phase 2024 general elections will be held from April 19 to June 1, with the counting of votes slated to take place on June 4.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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