"NCP supporting government unconditionally": Shrikant Shinde junks speculations of party being upset over MoS post

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 10 (ANI): After Shiv Sena's Pratap Jadhav was sworn in as the Minister of State (MoS) under the newly elected National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, party leader Shrikant Shinde junked the speculation of the party being upset over the same, affirming its support to the alliance. He said that the party supports the NDA "unconditionally".
"We have already made it clear that we are supporting the government unconditionally. This nation has asked and needs the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji. There's no bargaining or negotiation for power. We have extended unconditional support to an ideological coalition. We want Prime Minister Modi to carry forward the noble work of nation-building. The party, all MLAs and MPs are faithfully committed to the NDA", Shinde said while speaking to ANI.
Earlier today, Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Barne said that the Shiv Sena, being an old ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA, should have given a cabinet berth.
"Shiv Sena is an old ally of BJP-NDA. Yesterday, Shiv Sena got one MoS seat, but I think the party should have got a Cabinet berth like Majhi ji's and Kumaraswamy ji's parties have got. This was our expectation. However, this is my own opinion, not the party's", Barne told ANI.
Shiv Sena leader Jadhav was sworn in as Minister of State (independent charge) on Sunday. There was speculation that the party had gone upset over the MoS post as it sought a seat in the cabinet under the Narendra Modi-led government.
Shiv Sena, an ally of the NDA, bagged seven seats in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. The BJP and the NCP, on the other hand, secured nine and one seat respectively, making the total tally of the alliance 17, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), another ally in the NDA, has also demanded a cabinet post. Expressing dissatisfaction ahead of Modi's swearing-in ceremony, the NCP turned down the alliance's offer to hand over the post of MoS to party leader Praful Patel, referring to it as "demotion".
"Praful Patel has served as a cabinet minister in the central government and hence we did not feel right in taking Minister of State with independent charge," Party Chief Ajit Pawar said speaking at a press conference on Sunday.
During the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, under the leadership of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Patel was the cabinet minister for the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
Pawar added that his party is going to wait for the BJP to change its offer to its ally and they have junked its offer of 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. They said okay and we junked their offer of Minister of State with independent charge," the NCP chief said.
Earlier, NCP leader Praful Patel said on Sunday that accepting the position of Minister of State with independent charge in the Union Cabinet will be considered a demotion for him, as he was earlier a Cabinet Minister in the Union Government.
The President of India Droupadi Murmu, meanwhile, appointed Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India at the magnificent swearing-in ceremony that took place on June 9 with 30 cabinet ministers, 36 MoS, 5 MoS (independent charge) from the BJP and its allies joining the party-led NDA government. (ANI)