A day after Shiv Sena Arvind Sawant quit as the Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday accepted his resignation.
The President gave the additional charge of the Ministry to Cabinet Minister Prakash Javadekar.
In a statement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that the President, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accepted Sawant’s resignation from the Union Council of Ministers with immediate effect.
“Further, as advised by the Prime Minister, the President has directed that (Union Environment Minister) Prakash Javadekar be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, in addition to his existing portfolios,” it added.
Javadekar already has the charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
According to reports, Arvind Sawant had quit on the direction of party chief Uddhav Thackeray amid the tussle with ally BJP on power-sharing in Maharashtra.
The resignation came as the Shiv Sena is preparing to form the government in Maharashtra in alliance with the NCP and Congress.
In a couple of tweets in Marathi, Sawant said: “Before the (2019) Lok Sabha election, a seat and power-sharing formula had been decided. Denying this now is an attempt at portraying Shiv Sena as a liar. It is not only shocking but also an attempt to malign Maharashtra’s pride.”
“Shiv Sena is with the truth. Why should I stay in the central government amid this atmosphere of falsehood? Hence, I am resigning as a Union Minister,” Sawant said.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena is awaiting a favourable response from the NCP and the Congress who are still undecided on extending support to the BJP ally to form the government in Maharashtra.