President Droupadi Murmu, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accepted the resignation of Union Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras with immediate effect, as outlined in clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution, the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on March 20. In light of this development, Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju has been entrusted with the additional responsibility of overseeing the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Paras tendered his resignation on March 19, citing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s alleged unfair treatment towards his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party or RLJP by excluding it from the seat-sharing arrangement with coalition partners for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.
His decision was announced at a press conference held a day after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance-NDA revealed its seat-sharing agreement, allotting five seats to the faction led by Chirag Paswan (Ram Vilas), thereby disregarding the claims of Paras’ faction.
“The President of India, upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Pashupati Kumar Paras from the Union Council of Ministers, effective immediately,” stated the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Furthermore, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s advice, the President has directed Kiren Rijiju to assume the responsibilities of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in addition to his current ministerial portfolio, the statement added.
