CHANDIGARH: Union Minister of State for Railway and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu resigned from his post, as his tenure as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament had already ended in June. Bittu's resignation has been accepted, and he is all set to focus on upcoming 2027 Punjab assembly elections, according to sources.
It is learnt that on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bittu's resignation was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with immediate effect. Bittu was a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan and was not re-nominated to the upper house. He had been a part of the Union Council of Ministers since 2024 and is likely to focus on upcoming 2027 Punjab assembly elections which are less than six months away.
``The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Shri Ravneet Singh from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution of India," a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said on Friday.
While no official reason has been cited for his exit, the move comes against the backdrop of growing buzz over his possible return to active state politics ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls. Sources said that Bittu has been relieved of his ministerial duties and is likely to be assigned a role in the party for the 2027 Punjab polls.
Confirming the resignation, Bittu said that he had already given his resignation when his Rajya Sabha tenure ended in June and added that he met the PM on Thursday.
``I have already expressed my willingness to quit about couple of months back and had requested that I want to resign from my post, when PM came to Jalandhar recently, then again I had requested him the same in the ongoing parliament session. I have been focusing on Punjab,’’ he said.
He added that; ``Today also I was in Punjab touring various places, and will work across the state for the forthcoming assembly polls. I was MP from two Lok Sabha seats in the state that means 18 assembly segments and besides that also fought assembly elections from Jalalabad and Jalandhar Cantonment that is 20 assembly seats, and I will do whatever duty the party gives me to perform.’’
Shortly after his resignation was accepted, Bittu thanked President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the opportunity to serve as a Minister of State in the Government of India.
``I express my heartfelt gratitude to Hon'ble President Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji and Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji for giving me the opportunity to serve the nation as Minister of State in the Government of India. It has been an honour to serve the people of India, especially my beloved Punjab. I remain committed to the ideals of service, nationalism, and the vision of a Viksit Bharat under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. My journey of public service continues with renewed dedication," Bittu said in a post on X.
Bittu who is grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh had resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP in 2024 and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan by the saffron party for the remainder of the term of a seat vacated by Congress leader K C Venugopal. Bittu remained in Congress before that and had been twice MP from Ludhiana and one for one time from Anandpur Sahib.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bittu contested on a BJP ticket for the first time but lost to Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring by a margin of 20,942 votes.
His exist from the Cabinet comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party gears up for the Punjab assembly elections and has ruled out an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal as it plans to contest the polls independently. During his visit to Punjab earlier this month, PM Modi targeted the Shiromani Akali Dal, accusing it of serving its own "selfish interests" and caring "nothing for the people of Punjab." The saffron party is looking to improve its performance in Punjab as it won just two seats in the 2022 Assembly elections.
