Cabinet aspirant slams Cong leaders
A day after Chief Minister Ashok Chavan expanded his Cabinet, senior Congressman and former state agriculture minister Govindrao Adik alleged that the Congress had replaced him with a ‘turncoat’ barely an hour before swearing-in ceremony. Dharmendra Jore reports.
A day after Chief Minister Ashok Chavan expanded his Cabinet, senior Congressman and former state agriculture minister Govindrao Adik alleged that the Congress had replaced him with a ‘turncoat’ barely an hour before Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony. Loyalists were routinely being denied ministerial berths, he added.
The former state Congress chief told reporters on Friday that ‘a leader’ from Ahmed-nagar (Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil) had rebelled against the Congress a decade ago and joined the Shiv Sena. “This politician and his father (Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil) had even floated a forum to oppose the late Rajiv Gandhi,” said Adik, also from Ahmednagar.
Adik also hit out indirectly at Shiv Sainik-turned-Cong-ressman Narayan Rane, who was made minister despite rebelling against the Congress barely two months ago.
Seconds later, though, he had words of support for the former Revenue minister, saying: “Rane’s allegations are true… the same set of people schemed against me too. On Thursday, the Protocol Department invited me to Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in but later informed me that my name was missing from the final list of three.”
State party president Manik-rao Thakare said Adik should avoid making public statements. “He should discuss such issues with the leadership.”
Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.