Uttar Pradesh Governor B L Joshi quits, Centre wants others to follow suit

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh governor BL Joshi resigned from his post on Tuesday. According to reports, BL Joshi sent his resignation papers to Union home ministry.

BL Joshi's resignation comes amid reports that Modi government wants seven UPA-appointed governors to step down. There has been a speculation that West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan is likely to resign tomorrow.

As the row between Centre and UPA-appointed Governors intensifies, Sheila Dikshit is adamant not to quit. When asked if she was under pressure to quit, she said, "I can't react to rumours," Ms Dikshit.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "If I were in their place, I would resign." 

The seven governors who were told to step down are M K Narayanan in West Bengal, Sheila Dikshit in Kerala, Margaret Alva in Rajasthan, Kamla Beniwal in Gujarat, BL Joshi in UP, K Sankaranarayanan in Maharashtra and Devendra Konwar in Tripura.

Read: Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva meets Narendra Modi

Television reports state three UPA-appointed governors are likely to meet President Pranab Mukherjee later in the day.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday said the governors should quit on their own, as their appointments were without merit.

Read: Governors serving without merit should quit themselves, says Subramanian Swamy