NEW DELHI, 8 April 2008 — The latest reshuffle of the federal Cabinet has left many politicians unhappy. Prime among them is former Coal Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren.
“I was not given a place in the central Cabinet despite assurances. I was informed that I would be inducted into the Cabinet but saw my name missing from the list,” Soren told reporters in Bokaro, Jharkhand yesterday.
Soren was considered a strong candidate for a berth in the Cabinet. At present JMM, part of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), has no representative in the Cabinet.
His supporters too were disappointed. “The Congress party is playing foul by not inducting him,” a senior JMM leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.
If some were angry at being left out in the cold, pothers were more than happy. If Sachin Pilot, the young MP from Dausa in Rajasthan, was cut up after being excluded from the ministry, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi is all smiles over the additional charge of parliamentary affairs given him.
According to Congress sources, Pilot, son of late Congress veteran Rajesh Pilot, was dropped due to opposition from the Rajasthan state unit. Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Gujjar community leader’s induction would upset the more influential Meena community.
Gehlot also reportedly warned that antagonizing the Meenas ahead of assembly elections this year would damage the party’s prospects. Pilot has been a strong advocate of the Gujjars’ demand for Scheduled Tribe status to better their employment and educational opportunities. But he put up a brave face yesterday. “I welcome the changes in the government. We will work together to ensure a win in the elections.”
For Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, it was family dynamics that spoilt her chances of getting a berth.
DMK leaders claim the 40-year-old Rajya Sabha MP turned down an offer of Cabinet berth from the prime minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi because she “is still student in politics.” But Congress leaders say that Karunanidhi, already under fire for promoting “dynastic politics,” did not want to draw more flak. Karunanidhi’s son M.K. Stalin is a Cabinet minister in the state government.
Naveen Jindal, the young MP from Haryana’s Kurukshetra, seems to be another dejected Young Turk after failing to make it to the ministry.
Even among the victors there were sighs of disappointment. Political sources say that Jyotiraditya Scindia’s induction as a minister of state for IT left him somewhat cold. Scindia apparently had earlier refused to be a junior minister but took up the post after coaxing from Sonia Gandhi. Scindia’s friends say he was expecting the independent charge of sports and youth affairs.
