Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 10 : As the Uttar Pradesh government prepares for a cabinet expansion, Anil Rajbhar on Sunday welcomed the move and said some seats in the Council of Ministers were vacant and expected to be filled soon.
Speaking to reporters, Rajbhar said, "... Some seats were left vacant under the quota. The Uttar Pradesh Council of Ministers was incomplete, and today we expect it will be allocated."
He also extended his wishes to the ministers likely to take oath during the cabinet expansion.
"My best wishes to all our honourable ministers who will be sworn in, and we pray to Baba Vishwanath for their bright future," he said.
Responding to criticism by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rajbhar said the cabinet expansion was an internal matter of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"This is the Bharatiya Janata Party's own internal matter; what does Akhilesh Yadav have to do with it? The Samajwadi Party has developed a habit of interfering in others' business. They have no work of their own, nor do they have anything to do with the development of the state. When they had their own government, they had expansions as well. No one used to question it then, nor did we ever ask," he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Akhilesh Yadav took a swipe at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath amid speculation over a cabinet expansion in the state.
"Has the chit from Delhi arrived yet? Heard that the cabinet expansion is happening in UP, or rather, let's say there's 'katav-jhatav' (erosion) in the Chief Minister's power. They should at least ask those who already have a place in the cabinet," Yadav said.
The Samajwadi Party leader also hinted at an internal rift within the BJP leadership in Uttar Pradesh and made a veiled remark about Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak.
"By the way, this question is also stirring around: Will the 'next-door' pair get up to any mischief, or will they just keep peeking from the 'next-door' or merely make reels?" he said.
Speculation over the cabinet reshuffle intensified after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met Governor Anandiben Patel at Lok Bhavan in Lucknow on Saturday.
At present, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet has 21 ministers, including the Chief Minister and the two Deputy Chief Ministers.
The cabinet expansion comes as the state prepares for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with the BJP-led NDA aiming for a third consecutive term in power.
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