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12 ministers dropped in Cabinet rejig
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dropped 12 ministers from his council, including 6 senior Cabinet ministers (the last time as many Cabinet ministers were dropped was in 1963 during the so-called Kamraj plan), effecting a significant makeover of his team based on performance; and addressing the need to accommodate allies, political imperatives, and requirements, of the next few years
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dropped 12 ministers from his council, including 6 senior Cabinet ministers (the last time as many Cabinet ministers were dropped was in 1963 during the so-called Kamraj plan), effecting a significant makeover of his team based on performance; and addressing the need to accommodate allies, political imperatives, and requirements, of the next few years.
One of the ministers, Thaawarchand Gehlot resigned after being named governor on Tuesday; another, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal `Nishank’ has been unwell for some time; and chemicals and fertilizers minister DV Sadananda Gowda may be needed in Bengaluru to manage the fluid political situation in the state (although there may have been other reasons for his exit as well). But the exits of health and science minister Harsh Vardhan, law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, and I&B and environment minister Prakash Javadekar came as a surprise.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Vardhan, Prasad, and Javadekar would be accommodated in the party organisation. The health minister’s exit is widely seen as a consequence of the patchy way in which India has managed Covid-19. The government has put up a brave front in the face of criticism, and maintained its response was adequate, but Vardhan’s exit may well be acknowledgement that things could have been handled better.
Also dropped was Santosh Kumar Gangwar (independent charge of labour), and ministers of state Babul Supriyo, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Rattan Lal Kataria, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Debasree Chaudhuri have also been dropped.
President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted all the resignations.
Prasad, the law and IT minister has been removed at a time when India’s first data privacy bill is awaiting parliamentary approval, but people familiar with the matter said that his tussle with social media giants, especially Twitter, created unnecessary controversies for the government.
Javadekar’s stint in the environment ministry was also marred by controversies especially when the draft environment impact assessment policy led to a fierce public storm. As Javadekar started getting hundreds and thousands of mails and protest letters, he sought to file a case under the stringent UAPA laws against young climate activists. The Opposition had also charged him for diluting major environmental laws to placate industries.
Gowda started his innings in the first Modi government as the minister for law but was soon shifted to ministry for programme implementation and statistics. His regime at the chemical and fertilizers ministry may have been cut short after India reeled under shortage of crucial medicines and drugs during the second wave of the Covid.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to directly supervise availability of medicines and his office regularly called the chemical and fertilizers secretary for Covid review meetings,” said a senior official who asked not to be named.
Pokhriyal tested positive for Covid19 in April , seemingly recovered, but then was admitted at AIIMS last month following complications.
Union labour minister Gangwar, the people familiar with the matter said, may have paid the price for his ministry’s handling of the migrant crisis during the first wave of Covid-19. His ministry came under severe criticism as hapless migrant workers scrambled to return home last year during the lockdown. The labour ministry even failed to provide a realistic estimate of the returnees.
The much-awaited labour reforms, a key agenda of the Modi government to push ease of doing business, also hit road bumps. All four labour codes — on wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational health and safety — have been approved in Parliament, but none have been implemented so far.
The recent assembly election in West Bengal has also cast a shadow on the reshuffle. The BJP expected to win the state, but it was the TMC that won by a landslide. The two ministers of state, Babul Supriyo and Debasree Chaudhuri, from Bengal have been dropped after the BJP failed to do well in their areas. Supriyo, who brought little value as a minister in the Modi government, contested and lost the election.
Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao and Rattan Lal Kataria have been dropped to accommodate fresh faces, the people familiar with the matter said.
