New Delhi, July 5 (IANS): Corporate Affairs Minister Murli Deora said on Tuesday that he had offered to resign "due to personal reasons" and devote his time to the Congress, a move that comes ahead of the impending Cabinet reshuffle.
"Due to personal reasons, I have offered to step down as minister from the Union Cabinet and offer my services for the Congress party, where my political career began. I thank the Congress president and prime minister for their continuous support and guidance," Deora told NDTV here on Tuesday.
"I will be happy to serve the party and will wait for party's decision," he added.
Deora submitted his resignation to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last week, a Congress insider said. He wants a ministerial berth for his son Milind Deora, who is a second term MP from South Mumbai, the source added.
Political circles view Deora's "resignation offer" as a pre-emptive move following the draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which has pointed out several violations in the execution of exploration contracts by the petroleum ministry between 2006 and 2008 when Deora was minister.
Deora denied that his resignation was related to the CAG report and said he was the one who had "initated the CAG report".
Deora was the petroleum minister from 2006 till January 2011. He was moved to the Corporate Affairs Ministry in the last reshuffle in January.
Deora's resignation offer comes amid speculation that several ministers will be dropped in the reshuffle.
