The Hindu : Front Page : Minister loses portfolio

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Sunday, Feb 04, 2007
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Minister loses portfolio

Sunny Sebastian

By now it is clear that the anti-Raje groups are gunning for her

Vasundhara Raje

JAIPUR: The political crisis in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan, developed in the wake of the recent standoff between Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her detractors, appeared to have deepened after her decision on Friday to divest Minister Madan Dilawar of his Cooperatives portfolio.

Rumours on the resignation of four Ministers — Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, Education Minister Ghanshyam Tiwari, Madan Dilawar and Minister of State for Health Bhawani Joshi — were afloat throughout the day on Saturday with none from the Government or the BJP initially offering a denial.

It took journalists a few hours to finally get the clarification from the individual Ministers and the party's State president, Mahesh Sharma, that the resignations did not take place.

The party office looked desolate with the functionaries there themselves seeking confirmation of the news about resignation from the mediapersons.

Asked whether there was a crisis in the State, Narpat Singh Rajvi, Industries Minister and son-in-law of Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, replied in the negative.

Ms. Raje did not make it to the scheduled interaction with party workers at the BJP State headquarters on Sardar Patel Marg here as during the day she had to rush to Jhalawar, her former Lok Sabha constituency, to attend the funeral of the former queen of Jhalawar, Ila Devi.

Though the current round of combat had its origin in the re-nomination of Mahesh Sharma as the State president, by now it is clear that the anti-Raje groups are gunning for her.

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