Unfortunate, Orissa has no Cabinet Minister

BHUBANESWAR: Disappointed at the union cabinet reshuffle, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said it is unfortunate that the State failed to get adequate representation in Manmohan Singh cabinet. The reshuffle was effected on Tuesday. “It is sad. Whenever there is Congress-led government at the Centre, Orissa does not get appropriate representation in the union cabinet,” Patnaik told mediapersons here. It is unfortunate that Orissa has not a single Cabinet-ranked minister and has only one minister of State, the BJD supremo said.   Voicing similar views, BJP’s Orissa unit president Jual Oram said though Srikant Jena,  the lone minister from the state, was elevated to Minister of State with independent charge of Statistics and Programme Implementation, he has a Cabinet minister above him in Chemical and Fertiliser ministry. “It is highly unfortunate and demonstrates Centre’s negligence toward’s Orissa,” he said.