It is not every day that seven Cabinet Ministers are axedfrom the Union Cabinet in one fell swoop.
Wednesday was one such day when the huge surgery in theNarendra Modi government led to the axing of several heavyweight ministersholding key portfolios.
Most of these resignations were unexpected and not partof the usual speculation binge which takes place in the run-up to a Cabinetreshuffle.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was in the firing linebecause of perceived mismanagement of the Covid second wave which took a tollof millions of lives.
Harsh Vardhan had been widely criticized for the ensuing situationas the Health Ministry is seen as the nodal ministry for management of theCovid situation and vaccine administration.
Among the senior ministers, Education Minister RameshPokhriyal 'Nishank', Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda,and Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwar have also resigned.
Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B andEnvironment Minister Prakash Javadekar has also put in their papers, whileSocial Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot has been appointedas Governor of Karnataka.
A total of 12 ministers have resigned from the Modigovernment and President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted their resignations, astatement from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Among the Ministers of State who have resigned areDebasree Chaudhuri (Women and Child Development), Rattan Lal Kataria (JalShakti and Social Justice & Empowerment), Sanjay Dhotre (Education), PratapChandra Sarangi (Animal Husbandry), Babul Supriyo (Environment), and RaosahebDanve Patil (Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution).