Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was on Wednesday given additional charge of Ministry of Food and Processing Industries following the resignation of Pashupati Kumar Paras from the Union Council of ministers, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan notification.
President Droupadi Murmu assigned Rijiju the food processing industries ministry, in addition to his existing portfolio of the Ministry of Earth and Sciences.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: RLJP President Pashupati Kumar Paras resigns as Union Minister
Union Minister Pashupati Tuesday resigned as minister of food processing industries. The minister accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of doing “injustice” with his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) by excluding it from the seat-sharing deal with allies for the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.
Pashupati Kumar resigned after the BJP-led NDA announced its seat-sharing pact and gave five seats to the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas), ignoring his faction’s claims.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju criticises Congress’ ‘Donate for Desh’ campaign
“Injustice has been meted out to my party and especially me,” he said.
Pashupati Kumar joined the Cabinet as minister of food processing industries in July 2021 after a mid-term reshuffle of the Cabinet.
Lok Sabha 2024: BJP to contest on 17 seats in Bihar; JDU gets 16, LJP 5
What next?
According to media reports, the minister has been keen to fight polls, opening the prospect of a tie-up with opposition parties.
He may explore the possibility of joining hands with the opposition alliance led by Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar to fight against his nephew (Chirag Paswan) in the Hajipur seat. Paswan has also indicated that he will be contesting from the seat, considered a pocket borough of his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.
How BJP’s closeness with Chirag Paswan led RLJP’s Pashupati to withdraw from NDA
A RLJP spokesperson told a news agency that the party leaders will meet soon to decide future course of action but made it clear that Paras will contest Lok Sabha elections.
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Published: 20 Mar 2024, 12:22 PM IST