George Kurian Resigns, Ravneet Bittu Future Uncertain: Can a Minister Stay Without Being an MP?
George Kurian resigned as Union minister after his Rajya Sabha term ended. Ravneet Bittu faces the same situation — but hasn’t quit. We explain the constitutional rule and what it means for Punjab 2027.
North Desk Correspondent
Chandigarh, June 23
George Kurian resigned as a Union minister on Tuesday. Ravneet Singh Bittu, whose Rajya Sabha term ended the same day, has not. Both situations flow from the same constitutional provision — but the political consequences could not be more different. Here is what you need to know.
Who is George Kurian?
George Kurian is a Kerala-based politician and lawyer who has been with the BJP since the party’s formation in 1980. A member of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, he was one of the few Christian faces in the Modi government — serving as BJP’s bridge to Kerala’s Christian and minority communities, and often seen translating PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s speeches into Malayalam during their visits to the state.
He was inducted into Modi’s third government in June 2024 as Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. He entered Parliament in August 2024, elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in a bypoll — filling the seat vacated by Jyotiraditya Scindia after the latter moved to the Lok Sabha.
Why did he resign?
Since George Kurian was elected only for the remainder of Scindia’s term, his Rajya Sabha tenure ended in June 2026. His name did not figure in the BJP’s list of candidates for the latest Rajya Sabha elections. Without a seat in Parliament and with no renomination in sight, resignation was the only constitutional option.
The resignation is also reportedly linked to the BJP’s poor performance in the Kerala Assembly elections, which is believed to have weakened George Kurian’s standing within the party.
George Kurian himself struck a gracious note in a Facebook post after his resignation was accepted. Sharing a photograph with the Prime Minister, he said he had personally thanked Modi when they met on June 22 — the day after his Rajya Sabha term ended. “I had never imagined, not even in my dreams, that I would become a Union Minister. It was only because Narendra Modi became Prime Minister that I was given the opportunity,” he wrote
Can a minister stay on without being an MP?
Yes. For a limited period. Article 75(5) of the Constitution says a minister who is not a member of either House of Parliament for six consecutive months ceases to be a minister. In practice, this means someone who loses their parliamentary seat can legally continue as a minister for up to six months. But the person must become a member of Parliament within that window, either through election or nomination.
George Kurian chose not to wait. His resignation was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with immediate effect.
The Bittu question
This is where it gets politically interesting — particularly for Punjab.
Ravneet Singh Bittu’s Rajya Sabha term also ended on June 21. He has not been renominated. But unlike Kurian, he has not resigned — and under the law, he can remain a minister without being an MP for six months after the expiry of his term, provided he is renominated within that period.
The grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, Bittu had joined the BJP in 2024 after quitting Congress and was seen as a prominent Jat Sikh leader capable of broadening the party’s appeal in the state. He was the only leader from Punjab to accompany PM Narendra Modi during the central team’s flood relief visit to the state in 2025.
The BJP’s silence on his future is conspicuous. His exit from the government, if it comes, will necessitate a replacement from Punjab — with the clear criterion of finding a suitable Jat Sikh candidate as the new minister.
READ ALSO: BJP Promises RANJIT SINGH’S Punjab. AAP Promised BHAGAT SINGH’S. Punjab Is Still Waiting
What does this mean for Punjab 2027?
The denial of renomination has sent mixed signals about the party’s Sikh outreach strategy. On one hand, a Sikh leader was elevated as state chief in the form of Kewal Singh Dhillon. On the other, a prominent Sikh leader like Bittu was left off the Rajya Sabha list.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had publicly predicted Bittu would lose both his RS seat and his ministerial post. The first prediction has come true. Whether the second follows — and how soon — will be one of the cleaner indicators of BJP’s Punjab calculus heading into the 2027 assembly elections.
Bittu himself has been vocal about wanting to contest the 2027 Punjab assembly elections, signalling a possible pivot from national politics back to grassroots electoral battle in the state.
For now, he remains a minister without a parliamentary seat — on a six-month constitutional clock.
READ ALSO: Punjab Minister Mundian Accused of Extortion: ‘Give Me a Share or I’ll Get You Killed’
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