Mahant Urges Governor to Drop One Minister, Says Chhattisgarh Cabinet Exceeds Constitutional Limit

Raipur
Chhattisgarh Leader of Opposition Dr Charandas Mahant has urged the Governor to remove one minister from the state cabinet, citing a violation of constitutional provisions.

In his letter, Dr Mahant pointed out that the strength of the council of ministers, including the Chief Minister, has crossed the ceiling prescribed under Article 164(1A) of the Constitution, which restricts the size of the council to 15% of the total strength of the Vidhan Sabha.

With the induction of three new ministers on August 20, the cabinet strength has risen to 14. Given that the Chhattisgarh Assembly has 90 members, the permissible number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, cannot exceed 13.5 — effectively capped at 13. Mahant argued that the current strength of 14 is above the constitutional limit and called for the removal of one minister to bring the council into compliance.