Cabinet expansion before budget session, says Bihar BJP chief
BETTIAH: The protracted suspense over the Cabinet expansion in Bihar is set to come to an end now.
BJP’s state president and Lok Sabha member from West Champaran, Sanjay Jaiswal, on Saturday said chief minister Nitish Kumar is set to expand his Cabinet before the budget session, which is scheduled to commence from February 19.
“You all will come to know about the Cabinet expansion before the commencement of state Assembly(budget) session,” Jaiswal said at a press conference at his residence here.
He, however, refused to divulge information about the number of ministers to be inducted from BJP and its allies, including Nitish Kumar’s JD-U.
“It will be known to all at an appropriate time,” Jaiswal said when asked how many faces would be inducted from BJP.
After the installation of the Nitish Kumar government for the fourth consecutive term in November last year, the CM has been running his government with 14 ministers, as against the permissible 36 members of the state Cabinet.
There are only four JD-U ministers besides Nitish Kumar.
Mevalal Chaudhary was sworn in as a minister but had to resign for alleged involvement in corruption.
At present, five ministers, including the CM, have five or more portfolios.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member and former union minister Akhilesh Singh took a dig at the ruling dispensation for delay in cabinet expansion. “It has left none in doubt that Bihar has suffered a lot owing to internal squabbling within the NDA,” said Singh.
Congress leader and former Bettiah MLA Madan Mohan Tiwari sought to know if any Muslim face would be inducted in the Cabinet.
BJP had not fielded any Muslim candidate in the 2020 Assembly polls while JD-U’s all 11 Muslim nominees lost.