Bhubaneswar: A day after two ministers resigned from their respective charges in the Odisha Cabinet Friday, incumbent Revenue Minister Pramila Mallik Saturday was given extra responsibilities in the Labour Department along with School and Mass Education (S&ME) Department, a source said.
Mallick was allocated the two extra departments by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Amid speculation of a reshuffle in the state Cabinet, Odisha Assembly Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha and S&ME Minister Samir Ranjan Dash and Labour Minister Srikanta Sahu had resigned from their posts Friday.
The source informed that Arukha sent his letter of resignation to Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Assembly Rajani Kant Singh, while Dash and Sahu sent their resignation letters to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Dash stated he left his position as minister to focus on Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) party affairs.
Notably, Naveen reorganised his Council of Ministers for the first time since June 2022 in his fifth tenure. At that time, 20 ministers submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister one day ahead of reshuffle.
PNN