Ranchi, June 26: Chief minister Arjun Munda, who reached Ranchi today from Delhi, has confirmed that he will downsize his cabinet before July 7.
He will be holding a meeting with his ministerial colleagues on July 4, where a final decision might be taken. Before that the issue will be thoroughly discussed at the two-day state BJP executive committee meeting beginning on July 2.
“I have already worked out the modalities for downsizing my cabinet. I will be busy with the state BJP executive committee meeting on July 2 and 3. On July 4, I will hold a meeting with my ministerial colleagues, where a formal decision might be taken,” said Munda.
He, however, said representation by the alliance partners in the state cabinet was yet to be worked out. “How many ministers will the JD(U) and the other partners will have in my government is yet to be decided. But, the cabinet will be downsized on time. I need not wait till July 7,” he added.
Refusing to comment on the remarks by party members from Jharkhand at the BJP national executive meeting in Mumbai, where they alleged that the failure of the state government was responsible for the Lok Sabha poll debacle, Munda said his government was doing well and it will complete its tenure. He remained tight-lipped on how Rajnath Singh’s re-entry to Jharkhand politics will influence the BJP’s performance in the state.
“All of us are concerned about strengthening our party organisation and improving our performances at the assembly elections. Since Singh has been nominated the Jharkhand affairs in-charge by our partyhigh command, all of us look upon him with great expectations. We will extend him our full co-operation,” he said.
Replying to another question, Munda said that despite the Rania incident his government firmly believed that the Naxal menace should be settled through peace talks. The issue will be soon discussed at the state cabinet. A suitable decision will be taken accordingly.
“I am still quite serious about holding peace talks with the rebel outfits. Such stray incidents cannot deter us from our path. We want to find a solution to this problem through democratic means. For this, we need to talk to them. Other modalities will be worked out soon,” he added.
