A day after Union minister Birender Singh opposed creation of post of Deputy Chief Minister in Haryana, state minister Abhimanyu today said it was the Chief Minister's prerogative to appoint his deputy.
Asked about Singh's remarks, Abhimanu, who is Haryana's Finance Minister, said, "Birender is a very senior leader... he gives statements only after lot of deliberation."
Rejecting suggestions that he is in the race for the post of Deputy Chief Minister, Abhimanyu, who is the Jat face in Manohar Lal Khattar cabinet, said these are "mere speculations".
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He, however, said that "it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister to appoint his deputy".
When asked about the talk of appointing a Deputy Chief Minister in Haryana, Birender Singh had yesterday said, "In a small state like this there is no need for such a post."
"All powers lie with the Chief Minister. There is nothing called Deputy CM. Today there is demand for one Deputy Chief Minister. Tomorrow there would be calls for two and then for a Dalit for that post," he said.
Lashing out at Congress, Abhimanyu said it was the then Congress government in 1972 which ended the 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) policy.
"In the past 43 years, soldiers have suffered a loss of about Rs 3.5 lakh crore due to the decision of the Congress," he said.
