Several Indian ministers quit as Modi readies cabinet reshuffle

NEW DELHI: India’s health minister, and many other ministers, resigned ahead of a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, officials said, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to reinvigorate an administration that has been heavily criticised for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan quit, a source close to the minister said, paying the political price for the government’s struggles to cope with a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections.

Also, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda have resigned.

Besides Pokhriyal and Gowda, who were cabinet ministers, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre and Minister of State for Women and Child Development Debasree Chaudhuri have also quit.

Pokhriyal, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 21, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here in June again following post-Covid complications. He has resigned from his post citing health reasons, sources said. The former Uttarakhand chief minister took charge as the HRD Minister in May 2019.

Dhotre, who represents the Akola Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra, also took charge as the MoS for Education, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology in May 2019.

Chaudhuri submitted her resignation in the morning, one of her close aides said. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from West Bengal’s Raiganj constituency in the 2019 general elections.

Asked whether he has resigned from the post of Labour Minister, Gangwar answered in the affirmative. “Yes, I have resigned,” he told PTI.

Gangwar said he is not aware what his new role in the government will be.

The ministers for finance, foreign affairs, home and defence, however, were unlikely to be changed, according to the reports.

Before announcing his first cabinet reshuffle since winning a second term in 2019, Modi consulted leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party, a government official said.

State-run All India Radio said Modi is expected to name younger members of his party to be ministers and also give greater representation to women.

There are plans for a ceremony to swear-in new ministers at the presidential palace at 6pm (1230 GMT), an official at the palace said. Only a small number of people will be attending the ceremony due to the coronavirus risk.

Modi’s government has faced its most stinging criticism in years as the infections and deaths surged in April and May, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums.

Images of bodies of presumed COVID-19 victims washed up on the banks of the Ganges river fuelled outrage over a failure to do more to protect vulnerable communities.