Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) in Chhattisgarh on Sunday mocked the BJP Central leadership for ignoring State’s BJP MPs in a Cabinet reshuffle exercised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP has won 10 out of State’s total 11 lok Sabha seats in 2014 parliamentary polls in Chhattisgarh while the state has just lone representation in Union Cabinet with Vishnu Deo Sai as the Minister of State for Steel.
Sai, who hails from Scheduled Tribe community, was elected to the lok Sabha in 2014 from Raigarh seat. In fact, none of the MPs from Chhattisgarh has been inducted into Central Government as Cabinet rank minister for more than two decades.
“The neglect of Chhattisgarh has been done once again and it was against the mandate of people of Chhattisgarh,’’ Congress said in a statement.
In a joint press statement, PCC president Bhupesh Baghel and leader of Opposition in the State Assembly TS Singhdeo said, “people of Chhattisgarh have elected and sent 10 MPs from the state and had contributed in the formation of BJP-led Government at the Centre. looking at such huge number of MPs from the State, at least 3-4 ministers must have been included in the Union Cabinet from the State,’’.
The duo also criticised the statement of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, in which he welcomed the reshuffle of union cabinet on Sunday. “Actually, he (Raman Singh) does not want that any other leader could emerge as an alternative leadership for the state against him,’’ they alleged.