"He gets upset quickly but..." Khattar after BJP drops senior minister Anil Vij from Cabinet
Mar 12, 2024
Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], March 12 : After former Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij did not find a place in the new cabinet led by Nayab Singh Saini, former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the newly appointed CM will talk to Vij as he is 'upset'.
Speaking to the reporters here, Khattar said that Vij, who was minister in his cabinet, gets upset quickly as it is in his nature.
"Anil Vij is our senior leader...It is in his nature that he gets upset quickly but becomes okay soon. There have been such instances before. He is upset but we are talking to him...Our new chief minister will also talk to him," he said.
Five other ministers, who were part of Khattar's cabinet, took oath with Saini at a swiftly organised ceremony on Tuesday evening, hours after the chief minister and his entire cabinet resigned.
In addition to Saini, the BJP's JP Dalal, Moolchand Sharma, Banwari Lal, and Kanwar Pal Gurjar--all from the old cabinet--took oath as ministers.
The omission of Vij, who was the Haryana home minister, was even more surprising because there was speculation that he would be one of two deputy chief ministers appointed by the BJP after the post was vacated by Dushyant Chautala of the Jannayak Janta Party.
Manohar Lal Khattar resigned on Tuesday morning along with his ministers ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle, with its ties with its alliance partner JJP headed for a split ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The top leaderships of both the BJP and JJP (Jannayak Janata Party) were closeted in separate meetings of their respective MLAs. Khattar also held a meeting of all BJP ministers at his residence, before they submitted their resignations.
Khattar, while speaking about the alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), said that BJP's ally is likely to contest the upcoming general elections alone.
"The JJP made some demands over Lok Sabha seats, but BJP won 10 seats in the state. The JJP leaders must have discussed with the central leadership and likely decided something, although nothing official has been confirmed yet. However, we have received information indicating that they (JJP) have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls separately," Khattar said.
Khattar's stepping down--and that of his ministers--followed a breakdown of the ruling BJP-JJP alliance over failed seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha election.
