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Former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and former Shiv Sainik Suresh Prabhu were today inducted into the Union Cabinet as 21 new faces joined the Union Council of Ministers but Shiv Sena stuck a jarring note refusing BJP's offer of just a Minister of State post.
The already-strained BJP-Sena ties further dipped today when Prabhu, Power minister in Vajpayee government, joined BJP this morning to take oath as a Cabinet minister along with senior BJP leader J P Nadda and Jat leader from Haryana Birender Singh, who joined BJP ahead of recent Assembly elections.
This is the first expansion of his ministry by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he assumed power in May. Parrikar is all set to be given Defence portfolio, which is held as additional charge by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Sena's Rajya Sabha member, Anil Desai, who was tipped to become a minister, was ordered to return to Mumbai from the airport here just hours before the swearing in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which said he was not available "for the purpose".
Against Sena's demand for two more Cabinet berths, the party was reportedly told by BJP President Amit Shah that only one post of the Minister of State was possible for Desai. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray then decided to call it off.
The party is also said to be planning to withdraw Anant Geete, Heavy Industry Minister, from the Modi government and sit in the opposition in Maharashtra Assembly.
