George Kurian resigns as Union Minister

• Union Minister George Kurian resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on June 23.

• Kurian, who hails from Kerala, was Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and also for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

• His Rajya Sabha term ended on June 21.

• The BJP had decided not to renominate Kurian in the recent Rajya Sabha polls.

• President Droupadi Murmu, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accepted the resignation of Kurian from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under Article 75(2) of the Constitution.

• Article 75(2) states that - The Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.

• Kurian was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in August 2024 from Madhya Pradesh for the remaining term of the seat vacated by Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

• Scindia, who is currently Union Minister of Communications and also the Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Madhya Pradesh’s Guna constituency in June 2024.

• Kurian has been with the BJP since its 1980 formation. He has also served as a state general secretary, the national secretary of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, and the party’s national executive body.