Gandhinagar: Before the announcement of portfolios of ministers in the first cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and party chief Jitu Vaghani had called Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel to Chief Minister’s residence in Gandhinagar.

When Nitinbhai reached there, he was given a piece of paper on which names of ministers and their portfolios were written. Nitin Patel read the list and found that his previous departments Finance, Urban development and Petrochemicals were snatched away. Nitin Patel returned the paper to Chief Minister and said he didn’t want to be part of cabinet.

Shocked with Nitin’s reaction, Chief Minister Rupani and party chief Vaghani informed him that decisions were taken and approved by Delhi. In reply, Nitin Patel said he didn’t want to become minister at the cost of his respect.

Nitin Patel further said that 22 years ago in Keshubhai Patel cabinet he was allocated Health department, and now again he was being given the same departments.

‘What the party wants to prove by doing such insult? In 1998 when minister Savjibhai Korat passed away, Korat’s portfolio of Road and building department was handed over to me,’ Patel said and added, ‘is this the reward for his loyalty to party? If I am given just token title of Deputy Chief Minister and insulted like this when it comes to portfolios, I will better prefer to seat as a common MLA.’

Later party’s national president Amit Shah spoke to Nitin Patel over phone call and convinced him to attend the Cabinet meeting and press conference.

Nitin Patel came to secretariat campus with Rupani and Vaghani and attended the cabinet but he didn’t speak a word in the press conference.

Patel had there and then decided not to take charge of ministry for three days and tender resignation after this period if party leadership fail to bring solution to his concerns.

DeshGujarat