BJP says Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet rejig not linked to Kathua case

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Ram Madhav on Monday said that there was no link between Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet reshuffle and the Kathua rape case.

Speaking to ANI, Madhav said that the decision was taken to give a chance to new faces.

"The cabinet reshuffle has nothing to do with the Kathua incident. Our government has completed three years and we decided to give a chance to new faces," Madhav said.

He added that five new members of the party will be sworn-in as ministers in the new Cabinet.

Echoing similar sentiments, Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh called the reshuffle a normal thing.

"Cabinet reshuffle takes place depending on circumstances of the past and present and also taking cognizance of the challenges that lie ahead in the future. This is a very normal thing in any democratic setup," Singh said.

The People's Democratic Party(PDP) and the BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir reshuffled the state cabinet today.

On April 17, the BJP had asked all its nine ministers in the state government to submit their resignations to enable the party to bring in new faces.

A day before the reshuffle, Nirmal Singh resigned as Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP leader Kavinder Gupta took over as the new Deputy Chief Minister of the state.

BJP's new ministers Rajiv Jasrotia, Shakti Parihar, Sat Sharma, Kavinder Gupta, Mohd Khalil Band, Mod Ashraf Mir and others took the oath.

The state can have a maximum of 25 ministers, including the chief minister, out of which 14 portfolios are with the PDP and the remaining with the BJP.

(ANI)