With this, minister of state of minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi would be elevated by getting independent charge.
Union minority affairs minister Najma Heptulla, who has crossed 75, the unwritten cut-off age for a post in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Council of Ministers, resigned on Tuesday.
Heptulla was out of the country for around a month and returned just a couple of days ago, according to sources. She was not in the Capital on July 5, a day before the Cabinet reshuffle when five ministers were asked to submit their resignations.
With this, minister of state of minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi would be elevated by getting independent charge.
Heptullla's exit was expected as she had turned 75 last year. While Kalraj Mishra, the minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, turned 75 on July 1, there is speculation that he is unlikely to quit immediately in view of elections in Uttar Pradesh. The MP from Deoria is a senior Brahmin leader from the state, which is heading for elections in around eight months.
Meanwhile, GM Siddeshwara, minister of state for heavy industries and a party leader from Karnataka, has also stepped down. Another BJP leader from the state Ramesh Kandappa Jigajinagi had been inducted into the Council of ministers and given charge as MoS in drinking water and sanitation. Minister of state for urban development Babul Supriyo will replace Siddeshwara. The strength of the Council of Ministers, to which 19 new faces were added last week, is now 74.
Though there is no formal guideline on the age limit, it has been kept in mind while forming the Council of ministers. Senior party leaders -- LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi -- were made members of the Margdarshak Mandal. There is a buzz that Heptulla was in the race for becoming governor, possibly of Punjab, which is also headed for election next year.
Aware of the age cap, Heptulla adopted a proactive role attending all possible public meetings in her capacity as minister. She remained at the helm of the affairs in the ministry and did not miss any occasion to praise the Prime Minister for his endeavors towards the minority committee. While celebrating two years of the BJP government, Heptullah had said, "minorities of this county have developed a sense of confidence in Modi government because it is working for the public welfare schemes."
After stepping down, she tweeted "I'm extremely thankful to Hon'ble PM for giving me honour to be in his cabinet and I tried best to fulfill his expectations for development."
However, a news agency quoted here saying that she resigned due to personal reasons. "I will always be available for any responsibility given to me in future. I have resigned from my post due to personal reasons," she told the agency.
Heptulla had encouraged students who benefited from the schemes implemented by the ministry. "I might not be around, when these students will join as bureaucrats in the ministry. They will always remember the contribution of the ministry is shaping their careers," Heptulla had said a few months ago, when about 20 students from minority community had made through civil services.
She, however, did not hesitate to express her anguish on not being consulted by the HRD ministry on New Education Policy. "Who cares about us? We are a small ministry in the big system," she had said last year at a Delhi University function.
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