Udaipur : Days ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle, three Rajasthan ministers on Friday wrote to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, offering to quit their posts and work for the party. Sonia Gandhi has accepted their resignation. A senior leader familiar with the developments said that the cabinet rejig is likely to take place on Sunday or Monday.
Addressing reporters here, Congress general secretary Ajay Maken said revenue minister Harish Chaudhary, medical and health minister Dr Raghu Sharma and education minister Govind Singh Dotasra offered to step down from their ministerial posts.
“I want to remind that two-three months back, on July 30, I had met all the MLAs here and thereafter had told that some ministers want to work with the party and leave their ministerial post. I am happy to inform that three ministers today wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi and offered their resignation from the post,” Maken said.
These three ministers have expressed their desire to work with the party, he added.
The resignation of the three ministers came on expected lines as they were holding dual positions. Besides ministerial posts, Choudhary is incharge of poll-bound Punjab while Sharma is overseeing party affairs in Gujarat. Dotasara is the Rajasthan state party chief.
“The Congress party respects them. We are glad that there are such promising people who want to work for the party,” Maken, who arrived in Jaipur on Friday evening, said
With the three resignations, the number of vacancies in the 30-member council of ministers rose to 12. Prior to this, nine vacancies were pending since July 2020 when deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and two lawmakers loyal to him resigned during a rebellion against chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
At present, there are 21 ministers in the Rajasthan council of ministers, including the chief minister.
Meanwhile, Maken was received by Gehlot, Dotasara, and transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas as he arrived at Jaipur airport, in the evening. The chief minister, who was on a tour to Udaipur, also returned to the capital city.
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