New Delhi, Jul 7 (IANS): In wake of the resignation of Health Minister Harsh Vardhan ahead of the reshuffle of the Narendra Modi cabinet on Wednesday, Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that this highlighted that the government has "failed to manage" the Covid pandemic.

"The resignations of the Union Health Minister and the MoS Health is a candid confession that the Modi government has utterly failed in managing the pandemic," he said in a statement.

"There is a lesson for ministers in these resignations. If things go right, the credit will go to the PM, if things go wrong, the Minister will be the fall guy," he said, adding that this "is the price a Minister pays for implicit obedience and unquestioning subservience".

Several heavyweight ministers are resigning before the massive reshuffle of the Modi government this evening.

Harsh Vardhan had faced criticism for the ensuing Covid situation as the Health Ministry is as the nodal ministry for its management, and vaccine administration.

Among other senior ministers, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, and Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwar have also resigned, while Social Justice and Empowerment Minister has been appointed as Governor of Karnataka.