OLA Speaker & 2 Ministers Step Down

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha and two ministers today resigned from their posts amid speculation of a reshuffle in the Council of Ministers in the state. School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash and Labour Minister Srikant Sahu have resigned from their posts, sources said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had revamped his Council of Ministers, first time in his fifth term in Odisha, in June last year. The reshuffle exercise was effected a day after all the 20 ministers tendered their resignations to the Chief Minister.

It was the first incident in the political history of Odisha when all ministers were asked to submit their resignation. As many as 13 cabinet ministers and eight ministers of state with independent charge had been sworn in by Governor Ganeshi Lal.