RJD terms Cabinet expansion as 'redundant', claims PM Modi 'has made Ministers scapegoats'

As PM Modi's Union Cabinet underwent a massive revamp with 43 new leaders joining the Council of Ministers, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari slammed the move on Wednesday, noting that reshuffling of the Cabinet was 'redundant when the leadership is weak.'

RJD's Tiwari alleged that PM Modi has made the Ministers his 'scapegoat' by inducting them in the Union Cabinet. Taking a jibe at the series of resignations made by senior Ministers on Wednesday, the RJD leader claimed that the PM Modi should have also resigned from the Cabinet. 

"Reshuffling the cabinet is redundant when the leadership is weak. The Prime Minister too have resigned before the cabinet. He has made the ministers his scapegoat," Tiwari told reporters. 

As many as 15 new leaders took oath as Cabinet Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of PM Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane, Annapurna Devi, Meenakshi Lekhi, Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma are among the leaders who were inducted into the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.

Seven Ministers were promoted to Cabinet ranks in the reshuffle. These include Union Ministers Parshottam Rupala, G. Kishan Reddy, Anurag Singh Thakur, Kiren Rijiju, Raj Kumar Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, and Mansukh Mandaviya. The Council of Ministers now comprises 77 ministers, nearly half of them being new. 

Union Cabinet expansion

The Union Cabinet reshuffle saw the exit of four high-profile ministers including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, and Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. 

The new Council of Ministers has more representation in terms of caste, religion, region, and experience than several other governments in the past. 11 women Ministers (2 in Cabinet), 27 OBCs (5 in cabinet), 8 STs (3 in Cabinet), and 12 SC members (2 in cabinet) have been made a part of the new Council of Ministers. Moreover, 13 lawyers, 6 doctors, 5 engineers, 7 civil servants, and 4 former CMs have also been a made part of the new Council of Ministers.