Dropped from the newly sworn-in Modi Cabinet, former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar on Sunday first announced that his 18-year-long stint in public service had come to an end but soon issued a clarification, putting the blame on an intern in his team for creating the confusion.
In a lengthy post on X, the senior BJP leader said, “Today curtains down on my 18-year stint in public service, of which three years I had the privilege to serve with PM @narendramodi ji’s TeamModi2.0. I certainly didn’t intend to end my 18 years of public service as a candidate who lost an election, but that’s how it’s turned out.”
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who defeated him from Thiruvananthapuram in the just concluded Lok Sabha election, wished him luck for the future.
“As someone who discussed various issues with you during your stint in government, I have no doubt that there is much more you can contribute to our country through public service, @RajeevRC_X. Elective office is only one path (and you are young enough to have another crack at that too!) All the best for the future,” Tharoor wrote on X.
However, soon after his confusing post on his political future, the former minister deleted the original post and issued a clarification.
Chandrashekhar said that the earlier post was misconstrued and that it was made by a new intern in his team.
“A tweet-tweeted by a new young intern in my team – thanking everyone for their inspiration and support during these 18 years of public service as MP, has created some confusion among a section of people about my future political work. Inorder to avoid any further complexities on this, the tweet stands deleted…,” he said.
Chandrashekhar was among the prominent faces who were dropped from the Cabinet in the Modi government 3.0.
Anurag Thakur and Smriti Irani were among the other former ministers who could not find a place in the new Modi Cabinet.