A day after the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde abruptly cancelled his Delhi visit, the state NCP chief and former minister Jayant Patil on Thursday said only a ‘two-man cabinet’ was functional while the problems of people affected by the heavy rains, floods and other issues were ignored. He took a swipe at Shinde for delays in the cabinet expansion despite he and DCM Devendra Fadnavis were sworn in on June 30.
Patil observed that the differences between the alliance partners - BJP and Shiv Sena's Shinde faction - could be the reason for the delay in cabinet expansion and the allocation of portfolios. Terming the state of affairs ‘’sad’’, Patil said that the two-man cabinet was in place. "The oath ceremony was on June 30. It has been nearly a month but still, cabinet expansion has not taken place, only the CM and deputy CM are functioning as the whole state cabinet. It's still a two-man cabinet of the Maharashtra Government," he noted.
Patil observed that the delay in cabinet expansion may be due to the pendency of the case in the Supreme Court or due to the internal dispute over the distribution of ministries. ‘’It is a very sad state of affairs that the government does not have its whole cabinet. The delay may be either due to the pendency of the case in SC or due to the internal dispute over the distribution of ministries among both the allies or both reasons together," said Patil.
The former Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who is on his two-day visit to the villages affected by the heavy rains and floods in the Vidarbha regions, also criticised the Shinde-Fadnavis government for lack of cabinet expansion. ‘’There is a flood situation in many districts of the state, at such a time the responsibility of the guardian minister is important. Unfortunately, the cabinet expansion has not taken place yet which is impacting the relief operations. CM should expand his cabinet at the earliest,’’ he said.
Further, the state Congress chief Nana Patole claimed that the state currently has a cabinet of two persons with disabilities. He said that the state has suffered a lot due to delays in the cabinet expansion. ‘’Why His Excellency the Governor is silent on this?’’ he asked.
‘’The government is formed illegally. The BJP and Shinde camp have made a mockery of democracy. As per the stipulated norms, there should be at least 12 ministers in the cabinet but only CM and DCM are there,’’ said Patole.
