KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Laxmi Ratan Shukla from the state's council of ministers on the advice of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Shukla also resigned as the Trinamool Congress’s Howrah district president, but is likely to continue as the MLA.
Shukla was the minister of state for youth services and sports.
"Shri Laxmi Ratan Shukla ceases to be a member of the Council of Ministers with immediate effect," the governor said in an order.
The charge of the youth services and sports department will vest with Aroop Biswas as recommended by the chief minister, Dhankhar said in the order.
While political circles were busy assessing the impact of Shukla’s withdrawal, coming as it does within a month of Mamata’s once trusted lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari’s BJP switch, the Bengal chief minister said, “He is a nice boy. There is no scope for political rumors over this issue.
He told me that he wanted to concentrate on sports and that is why he stepped down. He said he would continue as the MLA.’’ However, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said the TMC was losing people by attacking us.
“The split in TMC has already begun,” he said. Left Front leader Sujan Chakraborty echoed Ghosh while saying, “The chief minister should understand that her colleagues are no longer relying on her.”Union minister Babul Supriyo sent feelers to Shukla, saying BJP was ready to accept him, if he wanted to join the party.
(With PTI inputs)