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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has accepted the resignation of Industries and Disaster Management Minister Renu Kushwaha.
"The chief minister has accepted the resignation letter and forwarded it to the governor," said A K Singh Principal Secretary to the chief minister.
The minister, who had sent her resignation letter late last evening after her husband Vijay Singh had joined BJP in the presence of Narendra Modi at Purnea, has been keeping mum on the issue.
The minister refused to entertain phone calls.
Kushwaha, MLA from Bihariganj in Madhepura district, is the second minister to quit Nitish Kumar cabinet after the resignation of Parveen Amanullah who joined the Aam Admi Party (AAP).
With these two resignations, the Nitish Kumar cabinet is left with no woman minister.
Bihar JD(U) chief Basistha Narayan Singh said the chief minister had asked here to reconsider the decision, but she stood her ground.
"There was no need for the resignation. In a democratic framework, it's possible that husband and wife can be member of different political parties," Singh said adding the decision had been taken in a hurry.
Taking a dig at the chief minister, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said "his house is on fire and nobody will be left in JD(U)."
Prasad's party colleague Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, who recently switched over to RJD from JD(U) and has been made party nominee from Ara Lok Sabha seat, met Renu Kushwaha at her residence.
