Chandigarh, May 12 (IANS) All five Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers in Punjab resigned Thursday over a corruption taint on the party's state leadership.

 
 Besides, two BJP chief parliamentary secretaries (CPSs) also submitted their resignations.
 
 The ministers and CPSs gave their resignations to BJP senior vice president and state in-charge Shanta Kumar, who further submitted them to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a party leader said.
 
 The ministers -- Manoranjan Kalia (industries and local bodies), Swarna Ram (social welfare and justice), Tikshan Sood (forests and medical education), Luxmi Kanta Chawla (health) and Mohan Lal (transport) -- and CPSs -- Arunesh Shakar and Sukhpal Singh Nannu -- submitted their resignations after a day-long meeting at BJP’s Punjab headquarters here.
 
 According to sources, the BJP central leadership had asked its ministers in the Akali-Dal-BJP alliance government to resign.
 
 Kalia and Swarna Ram were recently accused in a Rs.1.5 crore graft case. They were also interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials over their alleged involvement in this case.
 
 Besides, BJP CPS Raj Khurana was also arrested by CBI sleuths in the same case May 5. Khurana, who is currently under judicial remand, had submitted his resignation Sunday.
 
 Kalia is one of the senior-most ministers in the Punjab cabinet after Chief Minister Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
 
 The Akali Dal-BJP government is in power since March 2007. The next assembly elections in the state are slated in February 2012.