What do ministers demoted in Thursday’s Cabinet reshuffle have to say, apart from licking their wounds? Well, while some have managed to smile and bear it, keeping their chins up in the face of “adversity”, others aren’t able to hide their displeasure.
Take, for instance, former sports minister M.S. Gill, who now finds himself in charge of the far more low profile ministry of statistics and programme implementation, when reporters asked him about his stint as sports minister on Friday, according to agency reports, Mr Gill remarked: “I have forgotten that time (as a sports minister)...God has screwed my head on in such a way that I can’t look back and look forward.”
It was during Mr Gill’s tenure that the New Delhi Commonwealth Games were held last year. The Games became mired in a huge controversy over the alleged financial irregularities committed by the Organising Committee and led to what is now an ongoing CBI probe into the Games mess.
Mr Gill has got a rap on the knuckles through the “demotion” not only because he was the sports minister during the Games preparations but also for the manner in which he was seen trying to distance himself from all that went wrong.
So the former sports minister when asked today if he was happy with his new charge remarked: “I don’t look at any moves to study how and why or what has been done. I am not interested in all that.” On a more positive note, he stated, “It’s a new day for me and I am looking forward to that.”
Shifted from the Union ministry of road transport and highways to the urban development ministry, which largely has the task of looking at issues concerning Delhi, Union minister Kamal Nath was more stoic.
“I am not looking at this way. I take it as a challenge dealing with an area where huge work needs to be done,” the minister said when asked if he considered his shift a promotion or a demotion.
As for Beni Prasad Verma, sworn in as minister of state (independent charge) of the steel ministry, he assumed office on Thursday after apparently going into a sulk Wednesday evening for not having been accorded Cabinet rank.