West Bengal minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla resigns

Kolkata:West Bengal Minister of State for Youth Services and Sports Laxmi Ratan Shukla resigned from his post on Tuesday, sources in the state secretariat said.

Shukla sent his resignation letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a copy of it to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, they said.

The former cricketer's resignation came almost a fortnight after state transport minister Suvendu Adhikari had left the party and joined BJP.

Former captain of the Bengal Ranji team, 39-year-old Shukla, MLA of Howrah (Uttar), in his resignation letter to Banerjee expressed his willingness to "retire" from politics, the officials said.

Shukla, who was looking after the TMC affairs in Howrah district, however, has not given up his post as an MLA, they added.

Repeated calls to Shukla's mobile number went unanswered.