NDA almost dead, says Sena MP on reshuffle

Mumbai: Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut reacted angrily on Sunday after his party was not consulted ahead of the Union Cabinet reshuffle, saying, “NDA has been murdered. They (Bharatiya Janata Party) are having clear majority. Let them do what they want. We will speak at the right time.”

The Sena, which is a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, said it was not consulted over the reshuffle and had also expected to be invited by the BJP leadership for the swearing-in ceremony. But neither the Sena, nor the JD(U) were consulted for the reshuffle or invited for the ceremony.

The Shiv Sena had expected to get two more berths in the Narendra Modi government in the Cabinet reshuffle but their hopes were crashed.

There were reports that Sena MPs had had a discussion with party chief Uddhav Thackeray over demanding more ministerial berths from the BJP.

“BJP remembers its alliance partners only for its need. They came to our door in President and vice-president polls. But, not a single allied partner was called for the Cabinet reshuffle,” said Mr Raut.

He also taunted the BJP about its “arrogance” over having a majority in the Lok Sabha. “As of now they have majority. But it is not permanent. They will realise it very soon,” Mr Raut said.

No Sena member was present for Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Even the Sena’s lone Cabinet minister in the Modi government, Anant Geete did not attend the ceremony. When asked about the Sena’s absence, Mr Raut said, “We are not hungry for power. It comes and goes. Sena is rooted in people and we always stand on road for the people.”

Mr Raut also said Mr Thackeray would talk to the BJP leadership at the right time over this “ignorance”.

“As of now our leaders are busy in helping the people of Mumbai and Maharashtra. We will talk about this (about not being invited for the swearing-in ceremony) at the right time,” said Mr Raut.