Two Gujarat ministers lose cabinet portfolios
AHMEDABAD: Months ahead of the Assembly poll, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel late on Saturday night stripped Cabinet Ministers Rajendra Trivedi and Purnesh Modi of the Revenue and the Road and Building portfolios, respectively. The move comes less than a year after the Gujarat Cabinet, led by Vijay Rupani, was replaced.
While Patel will hold the additional charge of both the ministries for now, MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi has been given the additional responsibility of revenue as its MoS while MoS industries and forest and environment Jagdish Panchal will be the MoS for the road and building department.
The rejig is aimed at sending out a message that indiscipline will not be tolerated, as per sources. “The two were projecting themselves more than was acceptable,” said sources. Trivedi is an MLA from Raopura of Vadodara district. He was Speaker of Gujarat Assembly and was MoS for sports, youth and cultural activities department (Independent charge) in the Rupani ministry. He is the only minister who got a place in the Patel ministry.
Modi was elected from Surat West in 2017 and was re-elected from Surat Pashchim in 2012. He filed a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly defaming the “Modi community” at an election rally ahead of 2019 polls. His name was included in the Patel cabinet at the last minute.