New Delhi:
Barely an hour after the Cabinet reshuffle was formalised with a swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the heartburn among several ministers was telegraphed with one resignation and in the case of Veerappa Moily, a bitter review of what forced his transfer from the Law Ministry.
Mr Moily who has been moved to Corporate Affairs, has blamed "vested interests" for his move.
Srikanth Jena and Gurudas Kamat - both from the Congress - are reportedly unhappy at not being given Cabinet rank. Mr Kamat has in fact resigned; he says due to personal reasons, though his party says he was fired for boycotting the swearing-in.
(Read: Gurudas Kamat quits)Mr Moily's exit comes after the government found itself losing ground in the Supreme Court in several high-voltage cases including the telecom scam. However, Mr Moily said that "vested interests" opposed to his campaign for law reforms have conspired to blame him for the government's legal setbacks. "Whatever sin is committed by the administrative ministries, they will try to attach that to Law Ministry.It is the fault on the part of the administrative ministry, it has nothing to do with us. We are only the face in the court," he said.
(Watch)Mr Moily said that his principle of reforms, for "fastest and inclusive justice" had upset some people, though he did not indicate who. "Reform is not pleasant for everybody," he said.
Mr Moily attacked the media, accusing it of "sometimes being blind to the situation and reality." He said of his term as Law Minister, "I am very proud what I have done...it is unprecedented."
About his new term as Corporate Affairs Minister, he said, "No department is small... according to me, Corporate Affairs deals with the business world... that is the ministry of the future."