Former Kerala Assembly Speaker M B Rajesh sworn in as Cabinet minister

Former Kerala Assembly Speaker M B Rajesh took oath to be a state cabinet minister on Tuesday.

Rajesh, who was a former Lok Sabha MP of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was inducted into the cabinet as the excise and local self governance minister M V Govindan Master resigned, and was made the CPI(M) state secretary.

Rajesh, who was sworn in by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, will be handling the portfolios held by Govindan.

CPI(M) MLA A N Shamseer will replace Rajesh as the Speaker.

The changes were necessitated after Kodiyeri Balakrishnan stepped down as CPI(M) state secretary post owing to illness.