6 new faces likely in Assam cabinet
Guwahati, April 25:Close to two years after the formation of the Assam government, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is all set to expand his cabinet for the first time on Thursday.
Sources said that six new ministers are likely to be inducted in the cabinet including four from the BJP and one each from alliance partners, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF).
Although BJP leaders have remained tight-lipped over the expansion, informed sources said that names of BJP legislators including Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, Sum Ronghang, Tapan Gogoi and Piyush Hazarika are doing the rounds.
"A woman legislators from the BJP is also likely to be inducted as minister," said the sources while adding that the name of Angoorlata Deka has been doing the rounds. Deka, who won from Batadraba constituency, has been one of the vocal legislators.
At present the 11-member cabinet of Sonowal includes seven Bharatiya Janata Party legislators including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Of the remaining, two are AGP legislators and two BPF legislators.
While the ministry in Assam can have a maximum of 19 members, the Chief Minister is unlikely to fulfil all the slots at one time.
Senior AGP leader Phani Bhushan Choudhury is likely to be inducted in the cabinet. BPF is likely to nominate either Emmanuel Moshahary or Chandan Brahma to the single slot to be given to the party.
The expansion of the cabinet pending for almost two years has prompted the opposition as well as alliance partners to often point fingers on the functioning of the departments, saying the ministers were overburdened leading to slow pace of developments.
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Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai misconstrued for political gains, says BJP MLA
Mumbai (PTI): BJP MLA R Tamil Selvan on Monday defended party leader K Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai, saying his statements, aimed at highlighting the city's global importance, had been deliberately misconstrued for political gains.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) last week demanded that Annamalai be arrested for his remark that "Bombay is not a Maharashtra city".
While campaigning for the January 15 civic body elections last week, former IPS officer and ex-Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai had said, "People want a triple engine government. This is the only metro city in the country where a triple engine is possible. Modi is in Delhi, Fadnavis is the chief minister, and now Mumbai will have a BJP mayor. Mumbai is not a Maharashtra city but an international city."
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Talking to reporters, Selvan, who represents the Sion Koliwada assembly constituency, said, "Our leader Annamalai described Mumbai as a city respected across the world. What he wanted to say was that Mumbai is becoming the world's number one city, mainly because of the blessings of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Be it the Metro project, road construction or the provision of services, Mumbai has emerged as an important city on the global front. Annamalai was talking in this context."
The BJP leader's words were being distorted for political gains, he said.
"How can anyone separate Mumbai from Maharashtra? Not even a prime minister will be able to do it. Annamalai did not say those words out of disrespect. He was only saying that Mumbai has a global identity," he said.
Responding to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's "Rasmalai" jibe at Annamalai, Selvan said, "Raj Thackeray is a senior leader, and many respect him. I still respect him, but he should respect others as well. I am also from Tamil Nadu, but I have won the assembly elections thrice with the support of around 90,000 Marathi voters. They did not see my background."
The BJP gives tickets to people who serve the society, he said.
Selvan claimed that he had worked extensively in Maharashtra, even in rural areas, and invoked icons such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Lokmanya Tilak in his speeches.
In a dig at his critics, the BJP MLA said, "Now people have seen who uses foul language against our chief minister, who works for the people's welfare. We oppose such use of foul language. CM Fadnavis will take appropriate action against such people."
