The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday described the Cabinet reshuffle as a "damp squib" and insisted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has failed to reassure the nation and dispel the "gloom shadowing the United Progressive Alliance government".
"The prime minister's much acclaimed and awaited reshuffle has proven to be a damp squib. It is a futile exercise which inspires none and in no way dispels the gloom shadowing the embattled UPA government," said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Dr Singh on Tuesday dropped five ministers and inducted 13 new faces into his Council of Ministers.
However, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal have been left untouched. The BJP had been demanding their removal.
"This is a wasted exercise which unreservedly attests that we have a dysfunctional government that is destined to sink. Apparently, the prime minister has failed to reassure the nation once again," Rudy said.
While there has been no change in the top four Cabinet posts of Home, Finance, Defence and External Affairs, ministries like Law, Rural Development, Corporate Affairs and Environment have new incumbents.
The opposition had expected major changes in the Cabinet after it cornered the government over the last several months on issues like corruption, price rise and bad governance.