Upset over the Cabinet expansion in Rajasthan, senior Congress MLA and former minister Dayaram Parmar on Sunday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and expressed his annoyance.
"It seems some special qualifications are needed to be a minister. Please tell me what are those qualifications so that I can acquire them in order to become a minister in the future," wrote a furious Parmar.
Parmar was one of the aspirants from the Mewar region of the state. He was a cabinet minister in Ashok Gehlot's previous tenure.
Not only Parmar, some other leaders like Khiladi Ram Bairva, Jouhri Lal Meena have also expressed their disappointment after the Cabinet expansion today.
Meanwhile, 15 ministers took the oath today in a Cabinet expansion that included 12 new faces, fulfilling a key demand of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot whose rebellion last year shook the state's Congress government.
The 11 cabinet-rank and four ministers of state (MoS) sworn in by Governor Kalraj Mishra included five considered to be in the Pilot camp. Among them were Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena, back now as cabinet-rank ministers after being sacked during the revolt.
The list included three MoS, all Dalits, from the old team who were elevated to the cabinet rank. The Congress also made room for an MLA who had switched over from the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The expansion, two years ahead of the next assembly polls, also gives Dalits and women a stronger presence in the government.
The ministry now has 30 members, the maximum possible for Rajasthan. The council of ministers has 19 cabinet ministers and 10 MoS, apart from the chief minister.
(With PTI inputs)
