Ahead of the Union Cabinet expansion scheduled for Sunday, the Shiv Sena — a constituent of the NDA — said in Mumbai on Saturday that it had not received any communication from the Narendra Modi Government about the impending Cabinet re-jig nor had it reached out to the ruling BJP in this regard.
Talking to media persons here, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said: “We have not received any telephone call from the ruling BJP about the Cabinet expansion scheduled for tomorrow. Nor have we contacted the BJP in this regard. Hence the question of our craving for power does not arise”.
“During the last 50 years, the Sena has pracitised an ideology where in 80 per cent of social work and the remaining 20 per cent politics. ...The entire country may be interested in tomorrow’s Cabinet expansion, but we are more interested Mumbaikars’ health issues in the wake of recent deluge in the city,” Uddhav said, ahead of free medical camps organised by his party to treat people affected by water-borne diseases.
Currently, Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises Minister Anant Geete.is the only Sena minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. The Sena has for time been expecting that it would get one more berth in the Union Cabinet.
It may be recalled that ahead of the earlier Union Cabinet expansion in November 2014, the Sena had nominated the name of Uddhav’s trusted lieutenant and party MP Anil Desai for inclusion in the Union Cabinet. However, owing to some issues with the ruling BJP, the Sena boycotted the NDA government’s swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi. Desai chose to return to Mumbai from New Delhi airport itself, without oath of office as a Minister.
Taking a dig at the BJP over BJP MP Nana Patole’s claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not like being asked questions by the party’s elected representatives, Uddhav said: “looking at the proposed Cabinet expansion and Patole’s statement, I am actually in two minds whether the Sena should be a part of the Union Cabinet at all”.
Patole, who represents Bhandara-Gondia lok Sabha constituency in eastern Mahartashtra, had said on Friday: “Modi doesn’t like to take any questions. He had got very angry when I raised some issues about the OBC Ministry and farmer suicides at a meeting of BJP MPs. When Modi is asked questions, he asks you if you have read the party manifesto and are aware of various government schemes”.
Hitting out at the Maharashtra government for its failure to accept responsibility for the collapse of a six-storey building at Bhendi Bazar in south Mumbai, Uddhav said: “Except saying that these many buildings in the were in a dangerous state and issuing them notices, the state government does not do anything beyond that. All it does is to hand out empty promises to the poor that it would give houses at such and such a place. During elections, the BJP promises people that it would construct houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Instead of making such promises, why can’t the Government can not give alternate accommodation to people living in dangerous buildings in the city”.
Stung apparently by the criticism of Mumbai BJP Ashish Shellar who had on Wednesday asked him to “shun arrogance and apologise” to Mumbaikars over Tuesday’s deluge, Uddhav said: “Whenever there is inundation in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (ruled by the Shiv Sena) is held accountable. But the state government has little to talk about the inconvenience caused to Mumbaikars because of disruption in suburban train services during rains nor does it talk about the much-delayed execution of metro rail projects”.