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CM hints at cabinet reshuffle after Lok Sabha elections
Chief minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday hinted at a possible reshuffle in his cabinet after the Lok Sabha polls.
Chief minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday hinted at a possible reshuffle in his cabinet after the Lok Sabha polls.
Virbhadra had been repeatedly stressing that the performance of every minister was under the scanner. “As it is election time, party workers, leaders and ministers have to perform well. The possibility of a cabinet reshuffle cannot be ruled out,” he told HT on the sidelines of his election meeting in his hometown Rampur Bushahr.
“There are reports that certain leaders will deliberately underperform during the election. Any kind of lazy attitude cannot be tolerated,” he added.
Terming the Bharatiya Janata Party campaign projecting Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate “mere propaganda”, Virbhadra raised a question over the money being spent on Modi’s advertisements on television and in newspapers.
He told the gathering that the BJP had been accusing the Congress of corruption, but it should disclose the source of money being spent on Modi’s campaign.
Accusing Modi of disrupting communal harmony in his own state, Virbhadra claimed, “There is no Gujarat Model I don’t know any Gujarat Model of Modi, but the one in which he failed to restore communal peace. Violence was widespread in Godhra’s streets, but the Modi government remained a silent spectator for 48 hours. If he is so confident about his victory, why is Modi contesting elections from two constituencies, Vadodara and Varanasi.”
He added that because of Modi, senior party leaders LK Advand and Murli Manohar Joshi Singh had also been disturbed.
The CM said Varanasi was a 4,000-year-old town, which had remained the epicentre of Hinduism. “People in the Hindu heartland know what Hinduism is. They are sacrosanct and aware about the parties and their agenda,” he added.
Taking a jibe at his political opponent Prem Kumar Dhumal, he said, “Dhumal is not the President that he can dismiss any government.” He alleged that the BJP was targeting him at the behest of Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur, who was facing the heat of a series of inquiries against him.
He also attacked former chief minister Shanta Kumar, alleging that his concept of politics had never been clear. “Shanta is more of a poet than a politician. Over the years, he has confined himself to Palampur and to his Hotel Yamani and holistic ayurvedic centre Kayakalp,” added Singh.
