Expanding The Council Of Ministers
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-07-06 11:41:30
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The buzz about an imminent expansion and reshuffle of the Union council of ministers grows by the day. There are all indications that Prime Minister Modi will induct new faces, drop some laggards and change the ministries of others. This is necessary as the term of the government is already close to the half way mark. Further, the size of the cabinet is much smaller than allowed under the rules. Many ministers are handling multiple portfolios which obviously negatively impacts performance, more so in the times of the pandemic. Further, there are many aspiring candidates in the BJP and some old and new allies have to be accommodated. The delay is causing uncertainty as work comes to a standstill when ministers are not sure of their position.
Since apart from PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah (and maybe BJP chief J P Nadda and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat) not many are privy to the decision making process, the only signals come from related activities. Like, for instance, when the investigating agencies are handed out a list of potential candidates for background check and when party leaders and allies start lobbying. Other storng indications are crucial think tank meetings, one of which is being held today at the PM's residence. The big signal came today when several new governors were appointed and existing ones were transferred. The government has to strike regional and caste balance in the cabinet and gubernatorial appointments help in removing some leaders who might have lost out.
The buzz is also strong about a BJP-Shiv Sena patch up in Maharashtra and observers say that it is one of the reasons why the cabinet expansion is being kept on hold. It was rumoured that since the Sena was insisting on holding on to the chief minister's chair, Devendra Fadnavis was being sounded out for a cabinet berth. But things do not seem to have worked out as yet. Sarbanand Sonowal, replaced as chief minister of Assam by Himata Biswa Sarma, will definitely become a cabinet minister. Jyotiraditya Scindia is likely to get a berth. The JD(U) is also likely to get a berth and it is possible that Pashupati Kumar Paras of the divided LJP might get late Ram Bilas Paswan's seat.
The Prime Minister must induct a cabinet of full strength and allot one ministry to one person. The political, regional and caste considerations have to be looked into and the alliance dharma has to be maintained but if possible, some former bureaucrats, technocrats and experts, even if they are not in any of the political parties that make up the NDA, must also be inducted. It is often seen that policies are implemented faster and better when ministers are not restricted by the narrow and inbuilt political view of things. S Jaishankar as the Minister of External Affairs is an example of that. The cabinet needs more such persons.
