Rajiv Pratap Rudy resigns from Modi cabinet, Uma Bharti also offers to quit

NEW DELHI: Minister of State Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Thirsday resigned from his position at the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid speculation of impending Cabinet reshuffle. According to sources BJP president Amit Shah has asked Rudy to quit. He will be handed over organisational work in the BJP to pave the ground for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, sources added. On the other hand, Uma Bharti, Minister of Water Resources in the Modi cabinet, also offered to resign citing health reasons. There has been a buzz about a Cabinet reshuffle and BJP sources have indicated that it may happen soon but the timing remains uncertain. The appointment of Union Minister of State Mahendra Nath Pandey as the next BJP chief of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday has lent greater impetus to this speculation. Sources in the BJP said that a reshuffle may take place either on Saturday or sometime after the Prime Minister's return from China and Myanmar. Nitish Kumar's JDU, which joined the NDA after ditching the grand alliance in Bihar, is expected to be offered berths in the new Cabinet. After merger of two factions of the AIADMK -- one led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and the other by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam - there has been talk of the party joining the NDA but the recent political developments in the state have delayed the move. Some election-bound states, including Congress-ruled Karnataka, could get greater representation in the council of ministers. Karnataka will go for assembly polls next year. Last week, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu also offered to resign in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking "full moral responsibility" for recent train accidents. Earlier on Thursday, BJP chief Amit Shah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle. A party leader played it down, saying Shah meets Modi regularly and also pointed out that the meeting comes a day ahead of the beginning of a three-day meeting of the RSS and its allied organisations in Vrindavan. Shah is also taking part in the exercise. A cabinet reshuffle has been on the cards since Manohar Parrikar resigned as Defence Minister to become Chief Minister of Goa. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been holding additional charge of the Defence Ministry since then. Talk of a reshuffle gained ground after Jaitley on Thursday hinted that he would not continue to hold the Defence portfolio for long. "At least not for very long," Jaitley said in response to questions on how long he would continue as Defence Minister. Besides Jaitley, three other union ministers are holding additional charges of different ministries. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani is holding additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry portfolio, while Rural Development Minister Narendra Tomar has additional charge of the Urban Development Ministry after Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu resigned from his ministerial responsibilities to take up the high office. Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan is holding additional charge of the Environment portfolio following the death of Anil Madhav Dave in May. The last cabinet reshuffle took place in July last year in which Modi inducted 19 new faces and elevated Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar to cabinet rank. Five junior ministers were also dropped. (With inputs from IANS)