By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : A day after axing three ministers, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday inducted five new cabinet ministers and also elevated a minister of state to cabinet-rank.
The new ministers are former assembly speaker Maheswar Mohanty, former deputy speaker Lalbihari Himrika, Pradeep Moharathy, Usha Devi and Niranjan Pujari, while Anjali Behera, currently holding charge of textiles and handloom department, has been elevated to cabinet-rank.
Governor M.C. Bhandare administered the oaths of office to the new ministers at a function held at Rajbhavan here.
The new ministers take the strength of the Patnaik ministry to 22, including the chief minister.
Patnaik had Monday asked for the resignation of cabinet ministers Damodar Rout and Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha and minister of state Pravin Chandra Bhanjadeo.
While Rout had confirmed the development Monday itself, Bhanjadeo and Bariha Tuesday said they have also resigned on the chief minister’s instruction.
The three ministers said they did not know why they were asked to quit.
Rout was holding charge of the department of agriculture, cooperation, fisheries and animal resources development and Bariha was minister of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes development as well as minorities and backward classes welfare. Bhanjadeo was heading the department of sports and youth services as minister of state (independent charge).