Rajasthan minister Kirodi Lal Meena resigns

During the recent Lok Sabha polls, Meena (72) had said he would quit as minister if the BJP loses any of the seven parliamentary seats under his responsibility.

He resigned as the party lost some of the seats, including his native Dausa. "Kirodi Meena resigned as minister. He gave the resignation to the chief minister 10 days back," the aide said. Mr. Meena, 72, holds the Agriculture, Rural Development, Disaster Management and Relief, and Public Grievances portfolios as the Cabinet Minister. Mr. Meena refuted speculation over any differences with Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, and said he would explain the reasons for putting in his papers to the party leadership.

“It is my moral responsibility to resign after the BJP’s performance in the [Lok Sabha] election. I met the Chief Minister but he rejected my resignation. I have resigned to keep my credibility among the people intact,” Mr. Meena told reporters here on Thursday. During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Mr. Meena had pledged to resign from the State Cabinet if the BJP lost any of the seven seats in eastern Rajasthan for which he was given responsibility. The seven constituencies, in which he extensively campaigned were Dausa, Bharatpur, Karauli- Dholpur, Alwar, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Kota-Bundi, and Jaipur Rural.

The BJP’s candidates were defeated in Dausa, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Tonk-Sawai Madhopur in the results declared on June 4. Dausa is Mr. Meena’s native place, which he has represented once as a Lok Sabha MP. A five-time MLA, Mr. Meena is also a former Rajya Sabha MP, and a former Lok Sabha MP from Sawai Madhopur. Congress’ Murari Meena trounced the BJP’s Kanhaiya Lal Meena by 2.37 lakh votes in Dausa. The septuagenarian BJP leader said he had “no resentment” with the party organisation or Mr. Sharma, and had opted to step down as a Minister because of his public vow. He had earlier said during the elections that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had assigned him seven seats in the State, on which he had worked hard.

The BJP won 14 of Rajasthan’s 25 seats in the Lok Sabha election. Mr. Meena said he would have resigned immediately after taking the oath if there was an element of dissatisfaction or complaint. “I am not greedy for power. I have resigned because I stand by what I said about my failure to win seats for the party,” he said.

Mr. Meena posted a verse from the Ramcharitmanas on social media platform X earlier in the day, declaring that a pledge could not be forsaken even if a life was lost. Even as the CM reportedly made an attempt to dissuade him from stepping down, Mr. Meena remained resolute in his decision and cited “moral obligation” as the reason.

While BJP State president C.P. Joshi said the matter of Mr. Meena’s resignation would be dealt with at the party-level, the Chief Minister’s Office has authorised Ministers of State Ota Ram Dewasi and Krishna Kumar Bishnoi to conduct all Parliamentary work, including providing replies in the Assembly, for the departments held by Mr. Meena during his absence.