External Affairs Minister SM Krishna resigns: Sources

New Delhi, 26 Oct 2012 (NDTV): External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has resigned from the Cabinet, sources have told NDTV. His resignation comes just two days before an anticipated cabinet reshuffle. This will also open up his berth for a new face to be brought in. It is not yet known who that might be.

 

He has cancelled a scheduled visit to Laos, where he was to accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

 

Though the reason of the resignation is not yet clear, Mr Krishna was named yesterday in a probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta court into the acquisition of land for the Mysore Bangalore expressway.

 

Congress sources say that he will be required in Karnataka to handle party affairs. He has served as the chief minister in the state. Mr Krishna is a Vokkaliga, which is a politically influential caste in the state. He is likely to lead the Congress campaign in the next assembly election and give the party a face in the state, which it is currently lacking.

 

The 80-year-old has studied in the United States as a Fulbright scholar and was Karnataka chief minister from 1999 to 2004.