New Delhi: Hours ahead of the announcement of his sacking from the Narendra Modi Cabinet on July 7, Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi had tendered his resignation as the as a Minister of State for MSME and Fisheries.
This indicates that the first-time MP already knew of his fate of being dropped. And so was the fate of 11 other ministers, including some heavyweight cabinet ministers.
But the question remains as to who gave the bad news to Sarangi and the others?
According to a media report, it was not the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that informed the ministers that they were sacked. The exit call was dialled by BJP President JP Nadda.
On the other hand, party general secretary BL Santhosh broke the good news of their induction to the new ministers, sources told The Print.
The report said the PM had already shared the list of sacked ministers with Nadda on July 6. Following this, the BJP chief met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and personally informed the 12 ministers to tender their resignation.
“I was taking rest when I received a call from the BJP president’s office. I thought it was a call for elevation to cabinet rank, but he (Nadda) told me the party has decided to assign me a different role and that I won’t be a part of the cabinet now. So, as a party solider, I tendered my resignation,” one of the ministers now dropped from the cabinet told The Print.
Another ousted minister claimed that he was keeping unwell and had requested the PM to divest him from his ministerial responsibilities.
On the contrary, Babul Supriyo was among the first oustees to express his unhappiness. In a now-deleted Facebook post, Supriyo said he was “asked to resign”. He later clarified that he had “resigned” from his post as the Union minister of state, and said it would be improper to frame his statement as if he has been asked to go.
