New Delhi : Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday asked his followers on Twitter to “spare a thought” for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who used to be held in high regard when he was a part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led by the Congress, but got to know of the Cabinet reshuffle of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), only through the media.
“Spare a thought for Nitish Kumar ji who was the bee’s knees in the UPA & now only hears of union cabinet reshuffles through the media,” he posted a sardonic tweet.
Spare a thought for Nitish Kumar ji who was the bee's knees in the UPA & now only hears of union cabinet reshuffles through the media.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) September 3, 2017
Earlier, retorting to the flak over the JD(U) not being able get a representation, party general secretary K.C. Tyagi said that the rejig was BJP’s internal matter and non-NDA affair.
Tyagi said JD(U) commenting on an internal reshuffle, hence, was not pertinent.
Tyagi also downplayed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Yadav’s remarks ridiculing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that the latter is famous for making frivolous comments.
At the time when JD(U) patched-up with the BJP, it was speculated that the Nitish Kumar led party will claim high stakes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet.
However contrary to the expected, no JD(U) leader got upgraded in the Central team.
The Cabinet rejig saw the promotion of as many as four Ministers of State to the rank of Cabinet ministers today.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal has been given the charge of Railway Ministry.
This came after Suresh Prabhu formally bade adieu to the ‘rail family’ on Twitter, earlier in the day. He has now been assigned the portfolio of the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
Goyal has also been declared as the Minister of Coal. He has been responsible in bringing about a turnaround in power production and delivered on the government’s plan to electrify villages.
Nirmala Sitharaman has been assigned the charge of the Defence Ministry, becoming only the second woman to hold the post since late Indira Gandhi. (ANI)