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Raje strips Minister of portfolio

Special Correspondent

Chief Minister cracks the whip; signal to rebellious Ministers

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje cracked the whip of discipline on one of her Cabinet colleagues, Madan Dilawar, on Friday by divesting him of the Cooperatives portfolio. Mr. Dilawar, among the six Ministers who had reported absent at the Cabinet meeting convened by her in Kota on January 24, is a known favourite of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is now left with the portfolio of Social Welfare.

The Chief Minister, who had been tolerating open criticism from some of her senior Ministers over the past six months, seemingly lost her cool finally following Mr. Dilawar challenging the authority of Rajendra Singh Rathore, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, to hold a press conference to talk about mustard procurement.

By targeting Mr. Dilawar, who shot to limelight with his campaign against Emmanuel Mission International (EMI) in Kota and other minority groups elsewhere in the State in 2005, Ms. Raje has seemingly tried to give out a message to the other rebellious Ministers in her Cabinet that RSS support is not a shield that would safeguard them from all sorts of misdemeanour.

Mr. Rathore, a confidant of Ms. Raje who is entrusted with the task of briefing the media after regular Cabinet meetings, had on Wednesday interacted with journalists along with Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini on the State's preparedness to procure mustard at the minimum support price from farmers.

Obviously the briefing was at the instance of Ms. Raje only.

Mr. Dilawar, reading about it in the next day's newspapers, reacted saying Mr. Rathore had no business to talk about the Cooperatives Department which is entrusted with procurement of mustard.

Interestingly, Ms. Raje has given the Cooperative Department to Mr. Saini, who now holds the portfolios of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries and Agriculture Marketing.

Mr. Dilawar was not available for comment on Friday though he was said to be in the State capital. Earlier he had attributed his absence from the Cabinet meeting in Kota to his preoccupation with his ailing mother's treatment.

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