‘Allies got leftovers,’ says Opposition as BJP retains major ministries after portfolio allocation
Eleven MPs belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s allies in the National Democratic Alliance have been inducted into the Union Council of Ministers.
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As the portfolios for the third Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet were announced, the Opposition said on Monday that only “leftovers” were passed on to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s allies.
The BJP failed to secure a majority on its own in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections and formed the Union government with the support of its alliance partners, which includes the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United).
On Monday, the BJP nevertheless retained major ministries such as home, defence, finance and corporate affairs, commerce and railways.
Following this, Jammu Kashmir National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said that the “portfolios given to the allies are the leftovers because the BJP has not left anything meaningful for them”.
Abdullah wrote in a social media post: “For all the talk about the NDA [National Democratic Alliance] partners pressing for their fair share in the Modi 3.0 ministry, they obviously do not have much sway in the corridors of power. You can bet your bottom dollar the post of Speaker Lok Sabha will stay with the BJP as well.”
Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi said that the portfolio allocation showed that the prime minister “does not intend to respect his...
