President Patil accepts Prithviraj Chavan's resignation from Union Council of Ministers

President Pratibha Patil today accepted the resignation of Prithviraj Chavan from the Union Council of Ministers and asked HRD minister Kapil Sibal to hold additional charge of two ministries independently handled by him.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said the resignation of Chavan who held the charge of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences ministries as minister of state (Independent Charge) has been accepted by the president on the recommendation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"As advised by the prime minister, the president directs that Kapil Sibal, minister of human resource development, may be temporarily entrusted the work of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Earth Sciences," the spokesperson said.

Besides holding independent charge of these two ministries, Chavan was also minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry.

Chavan resigned from the government after he was chosen as the leader of the Maharashtra Congress Legislature Party. He is likely to be sworn-in as Chief Minister tomorrow.