Damodar Rout, Praveen Bhanjadeo and Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha

Bhubaneswar, May 9: Ending all speculations, chief minister Naveen Patnaik is set to effect a reshuffle in his council of ministers tomorrow.

The stage for the exercise was set with the resignation of agriculture and animal husbandry minister Damodar Rout and sports and youth affairs minister Praveen Bhanjadeo. Sources said SC and ST development minister Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha has also been asked to step down.

Talking to reporters at the secretariat, Naveen said: “Swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers will take place tomorrow. You will get to know everything then.”

While Rout and Bhanjadeo confirmed having sent their resignations, Bariha could not be contacted. Sources said he was on his way to the capital from his western Orissa constituency following summons by the chief minister.

According to sources, five new ministers would be inducted into the cabinet following the reshuffle. While the 21-member Naveen ministry, which was sworn in 2009, had room for an extra minister right from the beginning, yet another vacancy was created following the resignation of women and child development minister Pramilla Mallick on February 5 in the wake of the dal scam.

The names doing the rounds for induction into the ministry include that of deputy speaker Lal Bihari Himirika, Pipli MLA Pradeep Maharathy, former speaker Maheshwar Mohanty and BJD legislators Niranjan Pujari and Usha Devi.

BJD sources said Rout had been done in by the court for his alleged anti-Harijan remarks, while a case against him is also being investigated by the National Scheduled Caste Commission. “The other two, however, are being dropped on the basis of their performances,” said an insider.

As far as Rout’s case is concerned, superintendent of police, Jagatsinghpur, S. Debudutta Singh, today appeared before the National Scheduled Caste Commission and furnished details of progress made in connection with the case.

“A case has been registered against Rout for his remarks against the SC community at a public event on August 18, 2010,” said a police officer. Since then, the archrival of Rout, Bishnu Das, with the active support of a powerful BJD leader close to the chief minister, has been demanding the resignation of the Paradip MLA.

However, Naveen had maintained a stoic silence on the issue. But things appear to have taken an embarrassing turn for the government today after the National Scheduled Caste Commission asked Jagatsinghpur SP to submit a fresh report on the case on June 6. Even though Rout had been granted bail by the Kujanga first class judicial magistrate court on April 4, pressure was mounting on the government to get rid of him.

Rout said: “ The chief minister asked me over phone to send the resignation. It is the chief minister’s prerogative to decide whom he will include in the ministry.”

Sports and youth affairs minister Praveen Bhanjadeo also confirmed that he had sent his resignation. “I am a disciplined soldier and will continue to work for the growth of the party,” he said.