MP minister threatens to quit after forest portfolio given to Cong turncoat

Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Caste Welfare Minister Nagar Singh Chouhan on Monday threatened to resign from his post after he was divested of the Forest and Environment portfolio, which has been allocated to new inductee and Congress turncoat Ramniwas Rawat.

Chouhan said his wife Anita Singh Chouhan would also quit as Ratlam MP if BJP organisational leaders failed to respond "positively" to his concerns.

The Forest and Environment Ministry held by Nagar was allocated to Rawat on Sunday.

"My voice was not heard. I will first talk to organisational leaders and decide the next step. I will decide in a day or two after talking to the party organisation. If I feel I should not stay on the post, I will resign along with my wife Anita," Chouhan, a prominent tribal leader, told PTI over the phone.

He said tribals form 23 per cent of the population in Madhya Pradesh.

"This is the first time tribals have been given leadership, but now the Forest Department, which is closely associated with tribals, has been taken away and given to a leader from Congress. I don't think this is beneficial for me or the party workers," Chouhan said.

The minister claimed he had discussed the issue with party leaders on Sunday night and plans to continue these discussions.

"If they want, I will talk to them. No problem if they don't want to," Chouhan added.

Ramniwas Rawat, a former Congress MLA and a six-time legislator from Vijaypur in Sheopur district joined the BJP during the Lok Sabha poll campaign on April 30.

Days after his induction as a Cabinet minister on July 8, a notification was issued on Sunday stating he had been allocated the forest and environment portfolio.