Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar today revamped his two-and-a-half year-old council of ministers, dropping 10 ministerial colleagues and inducting 19 new faces.
Of the 19, 17 were sworn in as cabinet ministers, while two were inducted as ministers of state. Twelve members from JD(U) and seven from the BJP were sworn in today taking the total number of the council to 36 -- marking a "full-size" ministry in Bihar.
"Performance is a word that Nitish Kumar repeats often. While striking out the non performers, the chief minister has tried to send a message that the new faces, too, cannot take their positions for granted," a source close to Nitish observed.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, the chief minister procured the resignation of all ministers.
Then he accepted resignation of the ones who he dropped and rejected the same of those who happened to retain their positions.
Recently, Nitish Kumar had overhauled the top-rung of the state's bureaucracy and police set-up, stating that the government "will not tolerate non-performers". Today without saying a word against the "non-performers", he made his position clear again.
