Shiv Sena questions calibre of ministers

MUMBAI: A day after the expansion and reshuffle of the Narendra Modi cabinet, ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday took potshots at the BJP, saying it is difficult these days to find people of the same calibre as those who had served in the ministries of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Miffed at being ignored in the ministry expansion, Sena had on Tuesday said it was ‘hurt’ at the way the exercise was carried out and questioned the Prime Minister’s “selection criterion”.

“(Narendra) Modi is the lone face of this government. Compared to this, the ministries of Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had some excellent members like Babasaheb Ambedkar, Babu Jagjivan Ram, Yashwantrao Chavan and Shankarrao Chavan,” Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.

“The HRD ministry got its name only because of PV Narasimha Rao. The world got to know that India has a finance minister who works, only because of Manmohan Singh. People of the calibre in the cabinets of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi cannot be found today. In such a scenario, Modi has no option but to take complete responsibility of his cabinet,” it said.

Hinting that the party blamed the BJP for riding roughshod on its ambitions on having one more Sena minister at the Centre, the Sena said the BJP’s majority allowed it to do as it pleased. “The BJP has a majority. But this majority is like a moss covering the floor. One needs to be careful while walking on it.”

The Sena also said the expansion was not the NDA’s expansion. “It was the BJP government’s expansion. Hence, parties like the Sena, Telugu Desam party and Akali Dal need not feel upset at being excluded.”

The Sena also took a jibe at RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale, who has been made minister of state. “Athawale had earlier said that he would not accept a cabinet berth till his party got a place in the Maharashtra government. What has caused him to change that stance now?” it sought to know.