Former union minister and NCP leader Praful Patel skipped the oathtaking ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers after he was not included in it. However, NCP chief Ajit Pawar was in attendance and was seen sitting along with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.
Earlier in the day, the NCP-led by Ajit Pawar was offered a MoS with independent charge in the union cabinet, whereas the party wanted a cabinet birth for Praful Patel. Patel stated that the party was offered a Minister of State (MoS) position. However, since he has previously served as a Cabinet Minister, it would be a demotion for him.
"...Last night we were informed that our party will get a Minister of State with independent charge...I was earlier a Cabinet Minister in the Union Government, so this will be a demotion for me. We have informed the BJP leadership, and they have already told us to just wait for a few days, they will take remedial measures..." Praful Patel told reporters in the national capital.
However, Patel gave a miss to the oathtaking ceremony despite being in the national capital.
Party Chief Ajit Pawar echoed similar sentiments. "Praful Patel has served as a cabinet minister in the central government and we did not feel right in taking Minister of State with independent charge. So we told them (BJP) that we are ready to wait for a few days, but we want a cabinet ministry. We are going to attend the swearing-in ceremony today," Pawar said.
"We have one Lok Sabha and one Rajya Sabha MP today, but in the next 2-3 months we will have a total of 3 members in the Rajya Sabha and our number of MPs in Parliament will be 4. So we said we should be given one (cabinet ministry) seat," he added.