NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Union minister of state L Murugan from the Union Council of Ministers, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Thursday.The resignation fuelled speculation about an imminent Union Cabinet reshuffle.Murugan had resigned as the minister of state for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday, said he wanted to return to Tamil Nadu to strengthen the BJP’s grassroots organisation ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. He also sought permission to relinquish his Rajya Sabha membership.“I requested our Prime Minister to relieve me from the Council of Ministers and the Rajya Sabha because I want to go to Tamil Nadu to strengthen our party,” Murugan said.His exit marks the third resignation by a minister of state after George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu quit in June and July, respectively, following the BJP’s decision not to renominate them for Rajya Sabha elections.“The President of India, as advised by the prime minister, has accepted the resignation of Dr L Murugan from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution of India,” a communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday said.In his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Murugan described his tenure in the Union government as a privilege.“With humility and grateful heart, I therefore request you to relieve me of my responsibility as MoS and permit me to relinquish my membership of the Rajya Sabha, so that I may dedicate full time to strengthening the party in Tamil Nadu,” he wrote.
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Murugan said his journey from a family of daily wage labourers to the Union Council of Ministers had been a defining experience.“Now, I wish to return to the grassroots, stand with our ‘karyakartas’ and dedicate myself full-time to strengthening the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Nation First. Party Next. Self Last,” he said.Murugan has been a Rajya Sabha member since September 2021 and was re-elected from Madhya Pradesh in April 2024. His tenure is due to end in April 2030.Several ministers who were not renominated to the Upper House, including Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma, continue to hold office. Pankaj Chaudhary and Harsh Malhotra, who were appointed heads of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh and Delhi units, respectively, have also retained their ministerial responsibilities.
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