Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Babulal Gaur and Power and Development Minister Sartaj Singh today resigned from their posts after CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan inducted three new faces into his Cabinet.
"Senior Ministers Babulal Gaur and Sartaj Singh have sent their resignation to me. I have forwarded it to the Governor. Following orders from the party, Babulal Gaur and Sartaj Singh sent me their resignations," the CM said.
The three new faces inducted in the Cabinet are Archana Chitnis, Rustam Singh and Om Prakash Dhurve.
Among those who are made the Minister of States are Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya, Harsh Singh, Vishwas Sarang, Lalita Yadav, Sanjay Pathak and Surya Prakash Meena.
Speaking to media, Gaur (86) said that he was doing so on the orders of the BJP's top leadership.
"This was the order from the top leadership in New Delhi, and hence, I resigned. The party has given me so much and I have followed the suit," Gaur said after his resignation.
"The party asked me to resign and I resigned.... there is no resentment. Whatever the party would ask me to do, I will be doing that," he added.
Today’s expansion-cum-reshuffle is the first such exercise since Chouhan took office in December 2013 for his third successive term as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.
Chouhan had on Wednesday met BJP president Amit Shah and general secretary (organisation) Ramlal to discuss the possible inductees into the state council of ministers.
