BJP TODAY

February 16--28, 2003 - Vol. 12, No. 04

Reshuffle aimed at strengthening Party and Government for Mission 300 L.S. seats
Venkaiah Naidu

"The latest round of reshuffle in the Council of Ministers is a testimony to the growing strength of the NDA Government and self-confidence of the party. Changes have been made to take care of both the needs of the Government and Party in light of the coming Assembly and Parliamentary polls. The reshuffle was undertaken with the two-fold objective of refurbishing both the Government and the Party. This is part of the process that the Prime Minister has initiated from the time of the National Executive Meeting of the Party at Goa in April 2002. This process is part of the large exercise of midterm appraisal, mid-course correction and of charting the roadmap as announced by the Prime Minister after the Goa Conclave. The performance of the Government is also equally important to further the cause of the Party. At the same time we have our stated goal before us of achieving the target of 300 seats for the BJP and a two-thirds majority with our allies in the next round of elections.

So it was my responsibility to impress upon the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to send to the party the needed energetic and capable people to achieve our target. So when we - the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and myself - discussed among ourselves, we were happy to come to the conclusion about making Shri Promod Mahajan, Sushri Uma Bharti, Srimati Vasundhara Raje and Shri Ved Prakash Goyal available to the Party.

Shri Pramod Mahajan has the experience, energy and the expertise to deal with different kinds of challenges. I regard him as a big asset who can help me achieve the Party's Mission. Sushri Uma Bharti getting relieved from ministerial office to focus on the campaign will also electrify the atmosphere in favour of the Party. Smt. Vasundhra Raje getting relieved from the Ministry will enable her devote her entire energy to galvanize the Party and also prepare the Party for the next elections. The ministers from Chattisgarh, Shri Raman Singh getting relieved from ministerial responsibilities to focus on party work, Shri Ramesh Bais, getting independent charge, and the induction of Shri Dileep Singh Judeo will strengthen the Party further and give more confidence to the State unit.

I also express my satisfaction on the work and performance of Shri Arun Jaitley particularly in the Gujarat elections and other party work. I am confident that his performance will be a great asset to the government.

This reshuffle, both in Government and the Party, reflects our strong social commitment as is evident from the induction of Dr. C P Thakur, Shri Sangh Priya Gautam, Shri Chattrapal Singh, Shri Dilipkumar Mansukhlal Gandhi, Smt. Jas Kaur Meena and Smt. Bhavnaben Devrajbhai Chikalia into the government. This effort also reflects our determination to further strengthen the Party and make it more capable of facing the next general election. It's a young team, which has got the energy, experience and the urge to achieve our objective. The NDA Government has many historic achievements and initiatives to its credit. The Party should take the message of the government's achievements to the people."

(Party president's statement on January 30, 2003)