Raman accepts finance minister's resignation

Raipur, Jan 25 (UNI) In a swift political development, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has accepted the resignation of Finance and Urban Development Minister Amar Agrawal, who quit the Council of Ministers after being blamed by a section of partypersons for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate's defeat in a recent assembly bypoll.

''I have forwarded Mr Agrawal's resignation to Governor E S L Narasimhan for acceptance,'' Dr Singh told reporters before leaving for Bastar this afternoon.

Pointing out that he himself would now hold charge of the Finance and Urban Development departments, the chief minister disagreed with the perception that the minister's resignation could be construed as the beginning of resentment within the party against his 38 month-old government.

Dr Singh ruled out the possibility of a few ministers and chairpersons of some corporations and boards putting in their papers in support of Mr Agrawal who is the son of BJP veteran and former Rajya Sabha member Lakhiram Agrawal. ''There is no resentment at any level,'' he claimed.

The decision to accept the minister's resignation came after Dr Singh's consultation with senior party leaders, including the central leadership.

Mr Agrawal handed over his resignation to the BJP's state unit General Secretary Ram Pratap Singh and left for Bilaspur yesterday.

For almost 24 hours, Mr Agrawal neither confirmed nor denied his resignation saying that only the chief minister was competent to do so.

Yesterday, Dr Singh too evaded questions about the resignation by saying that he had learnt that Mr Agrawal left a sealed envelope with the general secretary but was unaware of the contents.

However, the chief minister confirmed the resignation while interacting with the press today after the swearing-in ceremony of Governor Narasimhan.

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