Chandigarh, Jul 3 (PTI) Hours after he was dropped as a minister in the Punjab government, Ajnala MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said on Thursday that he gave his resignation to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after he was told that someone else would be given a chance in the cabinet. Dhaliwal further said he has been told that he will be given some other work and asserted that he is a loyal soldier of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which he joined in December 2015. Also Read | India Weather Forecast: Monsoon in Active Phase, Heavy Rainfall to Continue in Most Parts of India for Almost Entire Week, Says IMD Scientist. The AAP government effected a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, inducting newly-elected Ludhiana West MLA Sanjeev Arora as a minister, while Dhaliwal resigned. Dhaliwal’s NRI affairs portfolio was given to Arora, in addition to the industry and commerce and investment promotion departments. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Horror: Man Kills 5-Month Pregnant Wife in Kasganj Over ‘Excess Salt’ in Food. Asked by reporters about the reasons behind his resignation, Dhaliwal initially tried to evade a direct reply and said, “Everyone should get a chance (to become a minister) like Sanjeevji got today. What else could I want when my party gave me the chance for three-and-a-half years (as a minister).” Quizzed again about the reason behind his resignation, he said the party high-command can answer the question better. “I feel that Sanjeevji will run the NRI affairs department better than me. I also feel that the party should make those workers, who can work effectively, ministers turn by turn,” Dhaliwal said. He added that he did not hanker after portfolios. “My fight is for Punjab. I am a loyal soldier of the party,” the Ajnala MLA said. Asked about his resignation, Dhaliwal said he tendered it on Thursday. “I gave it to the chief minister,” he said. “I was told that someone else is to be given a chance, I said surely, give it,” he said in a response to a question. Dhaliwal said he joined the AAP in 2015. “I never took any leave and worked 24 hours a day for the party,” he said. He said he is not among those politicians who go after portfolios. “I am a loyal soldier and worker of the party. I am a loyal soldier of (AAP supremo) Arvind Kejriwal. I will always remain indebted to Chief Minister Mann for giving me an opportunity in the cabinet for three-and-a-half years,” he said. Referring to his performance as a minister, Dhaliwal said when he was the rural development and panchayat minister, he got 11,000 acres of panchayat land, worth Rs 2,700 crore, free from encroachers. As the NRI affairs minister, he resolved 4,000 non-resident cases in the last two years and also held nine “NRI milnis” (NRI meetings), Dhaliwal pointed out. “I will continue to fight for people’s welfare. I have worked for the party for 10 years. Till my last breath, I will continue to work for the people of Punjab,” he said. Dhaliwal thanked both Kejriwal and Mann for giving him a chance to serve as a minister. “I did justice to my work. Whatever work was allocated to me, I did it,” he said. Dhaliwal said he will make his Assembly constituency — Ajnala — number one in Punjab. “I will serve the people of my constituency,” he said, adding that he will perform whatever responsibility the party gives him. Dhaliwal became a minister during a cabinet expansion in July 2022. He was earlier divested of the agriculture and rural development and panchayat portfolios. In February, Dhaliwal was left with only the NRI affairs portfolio after the government said the charge of the administrative reforms department, which he was holding for 21 months, did not exist. Dhaliwal had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Amritsar seat. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)