Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for giving its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government “leftover” portfolios because it didn’t have any “meaningful” ministry left for them.
As the NDA allies press for “fair share” in the Modi 3.0 government, Omar bet that the BJP would retain the post of Lok Sabha Speaker.
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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said, “For all the talk about the NDA partners pressing for their fair share in the Modi 3.0 ministry, they obviously don’t have much sway in the corridors of power. The portfolios given to the allies are the leftovers because the BJP hasn’t left anything meaningful for them.”
“You can bet your bottom dollar the post of Speaker Lok Sabha will stay with the BJP as well,” he added.
According to media reports, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar are miffed with Modi government for not being allotted a cabinet position, indicating potential trouble brewing within the NDA allies in Maharashtra.
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NCP was offered a Minister of State (MoS) with independent charge, however it had declined the offer, insisting on a Cabinet berth for Rajya Sabha member Praful Patel, citing his extensive experience.
On Friday, the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JNKC) Vice President had slammed the NDA for not having any representation from the minorities on the list of its elected MPs in the recently concluded general elections.
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“It’s not just the BJP, the NDA is Muslim mukth, Christian mukth, Buddhist mukth, Sikh mukth and yet the government will claim to represent 140 crore Indians,” Omar had said in a post.
He was responding to a newspaper report about representations of communities, including Muslims, in the NDA and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc among the newly elected MPs.
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The NDA which had won 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, had no Muslim MPs. The NDA did not have any Christian or Sikh MPs either.
However, according to the report Omar quoted, INDIA bloc has 7.9 per cent Muslim MPs, 3.5 per cent Christian MPs, and 5 per cent MPs from the Sikh community.
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Published: 10 Jun 2024, 09:35 PM IST