Union Minister L Murugan Resigns, Says Returning To Grassroots

 

New Delhi: Union Minister L Murugan has resigned on Tuesday from the Council of Ministers, saying he wishes to return to the grassroots and dedicate himself to strengthening the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Murugan was the Minister for State for Parliamentary Affairs and Information and Broadcasting in the Narendra Modi-led government.

 

In a post on X, L Murugan said, "It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve Bharat Mata and Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From the son of daily wage labourers to serving in the Union Council of Ministers under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi has been the greatest privilege of my life."

"Now, I wish to return to the grassroots, stand with our karyakartas and dedicate myself full-time to strengthening the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Nation First. Party Next. Self Last," he said.

"With humility and a grateful heart, I therefore request you to relieve me of my responsibility as Minister of State (MoS) and permit me to relinquish my membership of the Rajya Sabha, so that I may dedicate full time to strengthening the party in Tamil Nadu," he said.

 

Murugan was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Parliament, from Madhya Pradesh, and his Rajya Sabha tenure was till 2030. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in September 2021. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the second time in April 2024.

Now he has also resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha. Murugan had served as the vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) from 2017 to 2020. Earlier, he served as the in-charge of Kerala for some time. On 12 March 2020, he was made chief of the BJP Tamil Nadu unit.

 

L. Murugan became the second Dalit leader to serve as the president of the BJP Tamil Nadu unit, after Kirubanidhi, who held the position from 2000 to 2003. He contested the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections from Dharapuram and lost to DMK's N. Kayalvizhi by 1,393 votes. He was also a member of the Dr Ambedkar Foundation, Ministry of Social Justice, Government of India, from 2014 to 2017.

On Sunday, October 11, Murugan shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay at an event in Chennai.