Uddhav Thackeray holds urgent meet after reshuffle snub

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray held an urgent meeting of party leaders on Monday in Mumbai after its claims of being ignored by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while undertaking a reshuffle of the Union Cabinet on Sunday.

The meeting was held at Mr Thackeray’s residence, ‘Matoshree’ and attended by the party’s senior leaders, ministers, MPs and others.

Though for the record, Sena leaders said the meeting was related to the upcoming Gram Panchayat elections in the state, party sources confirmed that Mr Thackeray held discussions with leaders over the BJP’s approach in effecting the Cabinet reshuffle.

The Sena had expected it would be allotted two more berths in the Cabinet reshuffle. Sena MPs had had a word with Mr Thackeray when word of the reshuffle got out and Mr Thackeray had assured them he would speak to the BJP leadership. However, the BJP did not include alliance partners in the reshuffle. As a result, Sena leader Sanjay Raut had slammed the BJP for ignoring its alliance partners.

On Monday’s meeting, it is believed that Mr Thackeray consulted senior leaders regarding the issue. Sources said the Sena chief asked the leaders to wait for Mr Modi’s return to India from the BRICS summit. “There is information of one more reshuffle in the next month in which alliance parties will be included. This time (in the most recent reshuffle), no alliance partner of NDA was sworn in. So, till that position gets clarified, it will be good to restrain ourselves and wait,” said a senior MP after the meeting.

Other issues, regarding organisational changes and appointments, were also discussed in the meeting. Some leaders complained to Mr Thackeray of appointments being done directly from Sena Bhavan and leaders on the ground being kept in the dark about the same. Mr Thackeray assured them he would look into the matter.  

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mr Raut said, “It was a meeting regarding organisational issues and Gram Panchayat elections. Uddhavji is well aware about the things that are going on. We will speak at the right time.”

Shiv Sena savages Modi government in editorial
Taking potshots at its ruling ally at the Centre and in the state in light of the Cabinet reshuffle, the Shiv Sena through its mouthpiece Saa-mana said that the Narendra Modi government was continuing its experiment to find the right combination of ministers to provide people the achche din it had promised in the 2014 elections. The editorial described the rejig as a political necessity in the wake of BJP’s failure to address issues such as inflation, unemployment and basic /necessities including food, shelter and clothing.

The editorial said, “The Modi government has completed three years but experiments are still on in the ministry. People are still waiting for the miracle of achche din,” and added that while allotment of portfolios was an internal affair of the BJP, the nation could not keep quiet as these allotments had a bearing on national security and development.

The editorial pointed out that even though age was cited as reason for the ouster of some ministers, the younger lot hadn’t make much of a mark. “Those handpicked by Modi and (BJP chief) Amit Shah were inducted,” it said.

Alluding to the problems witnessed by the country, it said, “Demonetisation has flopped completely. Inflation and unemployment are rising. Basic issues of food, clothing and shelter remain. In cities like Mumbai, there is confusion among students about delayed results due to anarchy