Uddhav Sena Leader Priyanka Chaturvedi Takes Swipe At Shinde Camp Over Non-Inclusion In NITI Aayog

Priyanka Chaturvedi took a swipe at the rival Shiv Sena over the non-inclusion of its minister in the reconstituted NITI Aayog.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday took a swipe at the rival Shiv Sena over the non-inclusion of its minister in the reconstituted NITI Aayog. In a post on social media platform X, Rajya Sabha member Chaturvedi said, "No place for Shinde Sena in the reconstituted NITI Ayog. When 'Niti' is only immoral power grab, can understand the exclusion".

Union Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) Prataprao Jadhav, who is also MoS in the Health Ministry, did not find a place in the reconstituted committee.

On Tuesday, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government reconstituted the NITI Aayog, with four full-time members and 15 union ministers, including from BJP allies, as either ex-officio members or special invitees. 

Jadhav belongs to the Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, an ally of the BJP. The Sena (UBT) has often dubbed the Shiv Sena as the party of those who have usurped power by "betraying" Uddhav Thackeray.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain his position as chairman of NITI Aayog, while Suman K. Berry will serve as vice chairperson. Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Professor Ramesh Chandra, Dr. V.K. Paul, and Arvind Virmani have been designated as full-time members.

The special invitees in the reconstituted NITI Aayog will be Union ministers Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways), Jagat Prakash Nadda (Health), H D Kumaraswamy (Heavy Industries and Steel), Jitan Ram Manjhi (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh (Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying).

Other special invitees are Union Ministers Virendra Kumar (Social Justice and Empowerment), Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (Civil Aviation), Jual Oram (Tribal Affairs), Annpurna Devi (Women and Child Development), Chirag Paswan (Food Processing Industries), and Rao Inderjit Singh (Statistics and Programme Implementation).

Kumaraswamy belongs to NDA partner JD-S, Manjhi is from the Hindustani Awam Morcha, Rajiv Ranjan Singh is from the JD (U), Naidu belongs to the TDP, and Paswan is from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

The National Institution for Transforming India, better known as 'NITI Aayog', was constituted in 2015 when the Modi government chose to scrap the 65-year-old Planning Commission.