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Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai on Sunday criticised the state cabinet expansion, dismissing the reshuffle as a desperate political manoeuvre rather than a governance upgrade.
Speaking to ANI, Rai argued that the new appointments lack substantive power or purpose, serving only as "window dressing" for a government struggling with internal optics. "This cabinet is purely and simply superficial, artificial. It has no meaning. It has been done only to mislead the public," he said. Rai further added that the government's move was an attempt to divert attention from its shortcomings. "In 2027, the people will uproot and throw them out. This government is doing this to cover up its failures," he said. The Yogi cabinet was expanded on Sunday, taking it to the maximum permitted strength of 60 in the 403-member Assembly. In the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath to the new ministers at the Gandhi Auditorium of Jan Bhavan. Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary and Manoj Kumar Pandey took oath as Cabinet Ministers, while Krishna Paswan, Surendra Diler, Hansraj Vishwakarma and Kailash Singh Rajput were sworn in as Ministers of State. Ministers of State Ajit Singh Pal and Somendra Tomar were promoted in the Yogi government. Both took oath as Ministers of State (Independent Charge). After taking the oath, the newly inducted ministers greeted Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with bouquets. Following the ceremony, the Gandhi Auditorium echoed with slogans of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Shri Ram." Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary is a member of the Legislative Council and has earlier served as the BJP's Uttar Pradesh state president, while Manoj Kumar Pandey is an MLA from the Unchahar seat. Krishna Paswan, who took oath as Minister of State, is an MLA from Khaga, Surendra Diler from Khair, and Kailash Singh Rajput from Tirwa. Hansraj Vishwakarma is also a member of the Legislative Council. Union Minister of State for Finance and BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary, BJP General Secretary (Organisation) Dharampal, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, along with several other leaders, were present at the oath-taking ceremony. (ANI)
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