Odisha CM asks all ministers to resign ahead of cabinet reshuffle

Bhubaneswar, Jun 4 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday asked all ministers to resign from the council of ministers ahead of a reshuffle on June 5, a top official said.

Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, who is on a visit to Puri, has been informed about the programme which will be held at the state secretariat, the Lok Seva Bhavan.

“The new ministers will take the oath of office at 11.45 am at a function to be held at the Convention Centre on the premises of the Lok Seva Bhavan on Sunday,” a highly placed source in the Raj Bhavan told PTI.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that the ministers have started putting in their papers.

This will be the first reshuffle in the three-year-old ministry.

The process needs to be completed by Monday as the governor is scheduled to go outside Odisha after two days.

Patnaik, a fifth term chief minister, is also scheduled to visit Rome and Dubai from June 20 and he wants to revamp the ministry before his departure, the CMO sources said.

The ministry reshuffle exercise began a day after the ruling BJD won three Rajya Sabha seats and the by-poll in the Brajrajnagar assembly constituency.