Samajwadi Party slams elevation of 'tainted ministers'

The Samajwadi Party has added its voice to the list of those disappointed with Sunday’s cabinet reshuffle, slamming what it has called the ’elevation of tainted Ministers’, in a not so subtle reference to External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. “No senior leaders from UP have been made ministers. In fact, tainted ministers have been elevated. Salman Khurshid has become the External Affairs minister and one minister who is named in the coal scam has been promoted,” Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said. This is the first reaction from within the UPA stable, with the Opposition wasting no time at all in slamming the move. [caption id=“attachment_506197” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The party is also unhappy that UP has been ignored: PTI[/caption] “This reshuffle was lacklustre. It will not do any good to the country or even to the Congress party. It was expected that young blood will be given more representation in the Cabinet but this has not been done,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told PTI in New Delhi, shortly after the new list was made public. The UPA’s former ally Trinamool Congress, which pulled out of the government last month, had a different take, saying the three Congress leaders chosen as ministers of state from West Bengal were there only to ‘needle’ the party. It also said West Bengal was deprived of adequate ministerial representation. Meanwhile activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Reshuffle exposes this government. Corrupt are not just protected but also rewarded". He said the reshuffle was just like a game of musical chairs and it would not benefit the country. The reshuffle saw 22 new ministers sworn in, 10 promotions and 17 new faces in the cabinet. Pallam Raju became the nation’s new Human Resources Development Minister and Ashwani Kumar the Law Minister. Jyotiraditya Scindia was sworn in as the nation’s new power minister and Sachin Pilot as corporate affairs minister. Salman Khurshid was sworn in as the nation’s new external affairs minister, while Veerappa Moily became the new Petroleum Minister. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari is now the Minister for Information and Broadcasting.