Cabinet Expansion: Babul Supriyo resigned as junior minister in the Environment Ministry.
BJP MP Babul Supriyo today announced he has resigned as junior minister in the Environment Ministry. In a post on Facebook, the former Minister of State said he is "extremely happy" that he left the stint "without a spot of corruption on me". Mr Supriyo congratulated some leaders from Bengal who are going to be part of the refreshed Union cabinet, and added - "I am surely sad for myself."
His announcement came hours before a list of 43 new names in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet was made public. Some of the big exits include Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
"Yes, when there is smoke there must be a fire somewhere. Not being able to take phone calls of my friends in the media who care for me hence let me spell it out myself... Yes, I have resigned from the Council Of Ministers (As I had framed it earlier, 'Asked to resign' may not be the right way to put it)," Mr Supriyo said in the Facebook post, referring to a now deleted post that said he was asked to step down.
A screenshot of a now deleted post by Babul Supriyo on Facebook
"I thank Hon'ble Prime Minister for giving me the privilege to serve my country as a Member of his Council of Ministers. I am extremely happy that I go today without a spot of corruption on me, having served my constituency with all my might and having enjoyed their confidence when Asansol voted me back as their MP once again, with triple the margin in 2019 again," the BJP MP said.
"My bestest of wishes to my colleagues, whose names I can't spell out but by now everyone is aware, will be sworn in as Hon'ble ministers from Bengal. I am surely SAD for myself but very HAPPY for them. More power to all of them," Mr Supriyo said.
Mr Supriyo won the 2014 general election from Bengal's Asansol constituency. He was made Minister of State for Urban Development and related ministries. Five years later, he won the general election again from the same constituency by defeating Trinamool Congress's Moon Moon Sen.