Asish Banerjee replaces Purnendu Basu as state Agriculture minister

Kolkata: Taking a major decision within 48 hours of the state-level administrative review meeting, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a reshuffle in her Cabinet by making Asish Banerjee the new Agriculture minister replacing Purnendu Basu.

It may be mentioned that departments were being graded on the basis of their performances in the administrative review meeting held on Monday and the Chief Minister had urged many departments to expedite their work to complete the pending work within the stipulated time.

Before the reshuffle, Asish Banerjee, the MLA from Rampurhat Assembly constituency, was the minister of the Statistics and Programme Monitoring department. The Bengali professor of Rampurhat College is expected to take charge as the state's new Agriculture minister on Thursday.

Banerjee was also the minister of Science and Technology and Biotechnology department before it was handed over to state Education minister Partha Chatterjee. Banerjee was inducted in Mamata's Cabinet in July 2014 when he had become the Minister of State (Independent charge) of Ayush of Health and Family Welfare department and MoS of the departments of School Education and Higher Education.

He had also been the minister of both Statistics and Programme Monitoring department and Biotechnology department for a long period.

It may be mentioned that he had introduced several new way outs for better functioning of the department when he was the minister of Statistics and Programme Monitoring department and in turn it had immensely benefitted the common people of the state.

Basu has become the new minister of the Technical Education, Training and Skill Development department.

In the beginning of the Mamata Banerjee's government, Basu was the state's Labour minister.

Interestingly, it was on the same day when Banerjee was inducted into the Cabinet in 2014, Basu was made the state's Agriculture minister.

Asima Patra, the MLA from Dhanekhali Assembly constituency in Hooghly, has become the Minister of State of the Department of Planning, Statistics and Programme Monitoring (Independent charge), Backward Classes Welfare Department. She was earlier the MoS Technical Education, Training and Skill Development department (Independent charge).