Asserting that it had no qualms on not being part of the Centre’s Cabinet expansion which inducted 19 new faces on Tuesday, the Shiv Sena has asserted that the all the new faces in the expansion were affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party and not the National Democratic Alliance government.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the party had always given paramount important to the pride of its party and Maharashtra and never sold its self respect for the sake of power.
Talking about the expansion, he added that it was limited only to the BJP and stated that this was not the expansion of the NDA government. “Every face inducted today is from the BJP. Ramdas Athavale came to the Rajya Sabha from BJP quota, Anupriya Patel merged her party with the BJP. They did not invite Akali Dal or the Telugu Desam, the Shiv Sena has no qualms about not being part of expansion,” Raut said.
Earlier, in a clear sign of being unhappy over being excluded from the Union Cabinet expansion, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray declared his party would not “beg” for cabinet berths.
“We are a dignified party with self-respect. Whatever comes, it should be with respect. We shall not beg for anything,” Thackeray said.
He said that berths in the Cabinet were a “secondary issue” for the party, adding that “We shall not stand before anybody’s doors laachaar (helpless).”
Meanwhile, in a much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Modi inducted 19 new faces, who have been chosen after an exhaustive vetting process to carry forward the government’s vision of ‘Gaon, Garib aur Kisan’.
The 19 leaders from the BJP and alliance partners the Apna Dal, Asom Gana Parishad and RPI were sworn-in at a glittering ceremony held at the Rastrapati Bhawan.
Image: President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some new members inducted into the Council of Ministers on Tuesday. Photograph: PIB
