BJP calls Opposition ‘regressive’ for criticising Nirmala Sitharaman choice

Nirmala Sitharaman being sworn-in as a Cabinet Minister by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Sunday. (Express Photo/Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The BJP hit back at the Opposition Sunday for criticising Nirmala Sitharaman’s appointment as Defence Minister, calling them “regressive” and said all portfolios were allocated after monitoring the performance of the ministers. Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP’s national general secretary, said in a statement that the attacks on Sitharaman show the “regressive and petty mindset of the Opposition parties, especially the Congress”.

Referring to the elevation of Sitharaman, Congress spokesperson Manoj Tewari said: “There is nothing on the balance sheet of the Commerce Minister to justify her promotion…We only hope and wish that she does not do the same thing to the Defence Ministry.” Countering the charge, Vijayvargiya said that from FDI inflows to the Make In India Campaign, Sitharaman has “illustrious achievements” as Commerce Minister.

Advertisement

The Congress, he said, has a woman leader at its helm whose biggest achievement till date is her surname. Hailing Sitharaman’s appointment as a big step in the direction of women’s empowerment, Vijayvargiya said this government lives by its ideology instead of the “mere lip-service” offered by its predecessor.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters that allocation of portfolios was done after close monitoring of the performance of each ministry by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reacting to the Congress’s allegation that Modi did not trust his political colleagues and inducted four former bureaucrats, Jaitley shot back: “How can UPA say this? Their own Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) had come from the same background.”