ministers

PM Modi’s Cabinet Meeting Stressed on COVID-19 Management, No Announcement on Reshuffle

The cabinet meeting mainly focussed on how ministers should prepare themselves with facts and figures about the government’s handling of the pandemic.

New Delhi: A range of crucial decisions were expected to be taken at the cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Speculations were rife about a possible cabinet expansion and reshuffle, appointment of new members in the council of ministers and also charting out of a new political roadmap as a measure to undo some of the damages that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has had to face during the coronavirus pandemic.

However, it appears that the BJP leadership is yet to reach a decision on those fronts in the face of hectic lobbying by the state units whose members are eyeing central positions. At the end of the day, the Union government only let out a routine message which said that the prime minister exhorted his ministers to create an environment wherein “everyone follows COVID-19 protocols diligently and takes the vaccine to stop the third wave of the pandemic.”

The Wire had earlier reported that the government’s “free vaccination” drive has taken the shape of a political campaign with upcoming assembly elections in mind. The government has already launched a massive advertisement campaign on the drive, while the BJP has appointed party units to deploy a party desk at every vaccination centre across the country. The plan for a ground-level political campaign in the face of growing public anger against the government’s alleged mishandling of the pandemic was writ large upon the government’s vaccination drive.

The only crucial decision that appears to have been taken in the cabinet meeting was that ministers were asked to prepare themselves with facts and figures about the government’s handling of the pandemic, so that it could effectively counter opposition’s allegations in the upcoming parliament session.

Also read: After Second Wave, Traces of Internal Dissent against PM Modi among Grassroots BJP Workers

With the monsoon session of the parliament likely to be conducted between July 19 and August 13, although the dates are yet to be announced, the power corridors of New Delhi have been abuzz with a possible cabinet reshuffle. Sources from the BJP speculated that former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who had to sacrifice his chief ministerial chair for the obdurate Himanta Biswa Sarma after the BJP won a second term in the state recently, will likely be rewarded with a cabinet position. Such talks gained ground after Sonowal met Union home minister Amit Shah last week. It was also assumed that he would be given the Rajya Sabha seat vacated by former ally Biswajit Daimary of the Bodoland People’s Front.

Similarly, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who had been waiting in the wings ever since he engineered the fall of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and joined the BJP, is also expected to be rewarded with a cabinet position. Several other names from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which are going to polls early next year, also figured in the possible list of cabinet reshuffle. It is also being said that some allies will also be brought into the cabinet with assembly elections in mind. UP’s Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel, who served as a central minister during Modi’s last term, will likely be included in the cabinet again. The outreach towards allies is being seen as significant in UP, especially when many of them have openly been critical of the BJP.

Locket Chatterjee, West Bengal’s Hooghly MP, is also being seen as a leader who could be brought into the council of ministers. Ever since the BJP lost the Bengal assembly elections, its unit has been witnessing a spree of defections. The party leaders believe that rewarding a few MPs from the state could possibly contain BJP’s losses in the state.

The prestigious UP elections particularly seem to be on the top of priority for the BJP leadership. The party unit in the state had nearly imploded before the central leadership intervened. A number of MLAs and MPs have registered their protest against UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s allegedly authoritarian ways. While Adityanath has managed to secure his position, the central leadership has been signalling to the state unit that he will not be given a free hand.

Immediately after the cabinet meeting, the BJP decided to appoint three of its top leaders to tour the state – an apparent attempt to put its house in order. The party has now asked BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh, general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal and national party in-charge Radha Mohan Singh to visit different regions of the state to placate disgruntled leaders and prepare for elections.

However, political observers see in the move an obvious attempt to undercut Adityanath who has been sidelined in this decision-making process. In the days to come, the Union government’s various moves, be it cabinet reshuffle or expansion, are likely to be geared towards securing political gains in the election-bound states.

Narada Case: SC Says It Doesn’t Approve of Dharnas, But ‘Accused Shouldn’t Suffer’ For it

The Calcutta high court had ordered shifting of two West Bengal ministers, an MLA and a former Kolkata mayor to house arrest from jail, and modified the earlier order that stayed their bail granted by a special CBI when the four leaders were arrested.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, permitted CBI to withdraw its appeal against the Calcutta high court order allowing house arrest of four leaders, including three from TMC in the Narada bribery case, and observed that while it did not approve of the ‘dharna’ against the agency, the personal liberty of accused should not suffer either.

The apex court, which initially made some critical observations on protests by TMC leaders and on CBI’s arrests after filing of the case’s charge sheet, later said, “We have not made any observations on merits. The (Special Leave) petition (of CBI) stands withdrawn.”

A vacation bench of Justices Vineet Saran and B.R. Gavai said, “After the five-Judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court gives its opinion, we will peruse it. We are not intending to pass anything on merits. The Solicitor General (for CBI) has accepted that issue is being heard by the five-Judge bench and made a request that he may be permitted to withdraw the petition to raise all issues raised here before the High Court. All other parties shall also have liberty to raise all such contentions.”

The apex court, which heard the CBI appeal for almost an hour, said it did not want to deprive the high court bench of the opportunity to hear and decide for the case. Moreover, it will have the benefit of perusing the judgement of a Constitution bench.

Also read: TMC May Be Right to Question CBI’s Narada Scam Probe But its Methods of Protest Are Unhealthy

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, however, vehemently argued that the CBI faced engineered mob violence and has not been allowed to perform its duties. He said the agency wanted transfer of the Narada case from the trial court to the high court and a declaration that the proceedings, which took place before the CBI court, be declared a nullity in the eyes of law.

There was engineered violence by the mob to restrain CBI from conducting the proceedings, and the state law minister to the CBI court and join as a party without notice. The accused admitted that the minister was there to show solidarity. “The chief minister is also part of many such things,” Mehta said, adding that it should not be seen and taken as a case for cancellation of bail.

“The law minister was present in court complex during the day and the order granting bail was passed in this situation and this will lead to erosion of public trust and confidence in judicial system,” he said.

The bench said it did not approve of the staged dharna or sit-in by ministers, but the issue was that the personal liberty of accused must not suffer. “Liberty of a person is the first thing to be seen, and it cannot be mixed with other issues such as chief minister’s dharna and public protests against arrests made by the CBI,” it said.

“We will make it very clear that we do not appreciate the dharnas. But, if the chief minister or the law minister take the law into their hands, should the accused suffer because of it. You can proceed against those persons who have taken law into their hands,” the bench said.

Senior advocates A.M. Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra and lawyers Sumeer Sodhi, Kunal Vajani and Debanjan Mandal appeared on behalf of accused. Senior lawyer Vikas Singh represented West Bengal in the matter.

The high court, on May 21, had ordered shifting of two West Bengal ministers, an MLA and a former Kolkata mayor to house arrest from jail. It had modified the earlier order that stayed their bail granted by a special CBI court last Monday when the four leaders were arrested.

It had directed that the two ministers, during their period of house arrest, can deal with official files sent to them online and hold meetings through video conferencing.

A division bench, presided by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal, differed on the issue of recalling the stay on bail to the four accused. A five-judge bench was set up to decide the case. On May 24, the five-judge bench of the high court heard the case and refused the CBI prayer to adjourn the matter on the grounds of it filing an appeal in the top court.

West Bengal transport minister Firhad Hakim, panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and former Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee were arrested by the CBI last Monday in connection with the Narada sting tape case, that is being investigated by the agency on a 2017 order of the high court.

Of the four accused who have been in judicial remand, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee were admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital a day after the arrest, owing to ailments.

While differing on the recalling applications filed by the accused, Justice Arijit Banerjee favoured granting of bail to the four, while Acting Chief Justice Bindal wanted that they be sent on house arrest.

The CBI had sought transfer of the case, alleging extraordinary circumstances wherein West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee sat on a dharna in the CBI office after the arrests and the agency was unable to produce the four accused in court physically, owing to large unruly protests outside its office complex.

The sting operation was conducted by journalist Mathew Samuel of Narada News, a web portal, in 2014 wherein some people resembling TMC ministers, MPs and MLAs were seen receiving money from representatives of a fictitious company in lieu of favours.

Calcutta HC Stays Bail to Bengal Ministers, Leaders Arrested in Narada Sting Case

The division bench deemed it appropriate to stay the special court’s order and directed that the “accused person shall be treated to be in judicial custody till further orders”.

Kolkata: The Calcutta high court stayed a lower court’s decision to grant bail to two TMC ministers and an MLA, along with a former party leader. They were arrested and chargesheeted by the CBI in the Narada sting tape case.

The central agency moved a division bench of acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijit Banerjee soon after a special CBI court granted bail to the leaders. These included state ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MLA Madan Mitra, and former TMC leader and former mayor of Kolkata, Sovan Chatterjee.

The division bench deemed it appropriate to stay the special court’s order and directed that the “accused person shall be treated to be in judicial custody till further orders”. The court listed the matter for further hearing on May 19.

The authority in whose custody the ministers are kept shall ensure that they have all required medical facilities available and are treated in terms of the jail manual’s provisions, the court added.

The CBI was represented in the high court by solicitor general Tushar Mehta.

The CBI office at Nizam Palace in Kolkata became the latest political battleground in the state, as chief minister Mamata Banerjee arrived and demanded she also be arrested. Angry protestors disregarded the ongoing coronavirus lockdown by gathering on site and hurling stones and bricks at security personnel.

The bench noted that the CBI moved the high court “to deal with an extraordinary situation where chief minister of the state can sit on a dharna outside the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation along with her supporters.” They also claimed that the law minister of West Bengal was present in court where the accused were to be presented along with a “mob of 2,000 to 3,000 supporters”.

The CBI further claimed that the chief minister, law minister and other senior ministers of West Bengal, along with their supporters, were obstructing the CBI in discharging its official duties in thousands.

The investigating agency claimed that the arrested political leaders’ followers had surrounded the CBI office, and were stopping the officers from moving out to present the accused in court. The leaders were eventually produced before the special CBI court virtually and granted bail.

The agency also claimed before the high court that Mamata Banerjee arrived at on site at 10:50 am and sat on dharna along with the mob, demanding unconditional release of the arrested ministers.

The matter was mentioned before the high court in the afternoon, seeking directions for the state to allow the CBI to discharge its function.

Solicitor general Mehta submitted before the virtually held court, that the case was a total failure of rule of law.

Appearing for the state, advocate general Kishore Dutta submitted that CBI officers were provided full protection by the local police for discharging their duty. He further claimed that no official complaint, about any incident, had been filed by the CBI with the police.

Passing the order, the division bench observed that the people’s confidence in the justice system will be eroded. They added that such incidents are allowed to happen in matters where political leaders are arrested and to be produced in court.

The bench observed, “Public trust and confidence in the judicial system is more important, it being the last resort.”

(PTI)

PM Wants Ministers to ‘Make Up for Lost Time’ in J&K, Says No Political Comments

Ministers are scheduled to visit several districts to spread awareness about government policies “particularly in the last five months after the abrogation of Article 370″.

New Delhi: A day before members of the Union council of ministers reached Jammu and Kashmir as a part of the Centre’s outreach programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed them to refrain from making any political statements during their visit and focus only on connecting with the people to “make up for lost time”, according to a report in the Indian Express.

Ministers are scheduled to visit several districts of Jammu and Kashmir to spread awareness about government policies “particularly in the last five months after the abrogation of Article 370″.

In a letter sent to the Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, minister of state for Home Affairs G. Krishan Reddy wrote that the minister would visit the Union territory for “disseminating information about the importance of the Government policies with regard to the overall development of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.

As per the outreach programme, ministers will visit different districts in both the divisions of the UT between January 18 and January 24.

According to sources quoted by the Indian Express, the prime minister has also asked ministers to stay overnight in the villages they are visiting instead of returning to Jammu or Srinagar.

“The PM specifically told the Ministers who will be visiting J&K that there should not be any political colour to the visit. The idea should not be to do politics but to connect with the people — youth, teachers, government officers — and try to win them over. He emphasised on winning hearts and minds so that the government can work with them to make up for lost time,” said sources present at the meeting to the newspaper.

Also read: Modi’s Thought Control Firewall in Kashmir May Be the Internet’s Future in India

The meeting was the latest in a series of meetings held with ministers and bureaucrats. Speaking with bureaucrats, the prime minister said that if all files in the government moved at the same pace as those pertaining to foreign visits, the government “would be in a good place”. The prime minister also suggested that the Statue of Unity be included among iconic tourism sites in the country and stressed on the importance of security in ease of doing business and tourism.

The meeting also noted the need to boost promotion of the tourism sector and heritage sites.

“The PM wanted the Statue of Unity to be included among the 17 iconic sites. Several Ministers suggested that they should schedule meetings with international dignitaries near the site in Kewadiya Colony (near Vadodara) to make the statue an international destination,” sources said.

According to a report in NDTV, there are 51 trips planned for Jammu, and only eight for Srinagar.

Upon visiting Jammu, Minister of State (MoS) in the prime minister’s office Jitendra Singh speaking about the dilution of Article 370, said, “People had to wait for this long because it had to happen under the aegis of a personality like Modi.” Singh later inaugurated a smart classroom and laid the foundation stone of a sports stadium at Gole Gujral, Marh, in Jammu.

Minister of State (MoS) Arjun Ram Meghwal, inaugurating a tubewell and drain protection wall at Birpur in Mandana of Samba, interacted with people and “listened to their development needs”,

The outreach initiative will also take stock of 55 beneficiary-oriented schemes, according to a report in The Hindu.

JNU Fee Hike Row: Multi-Party Delegation of RS MPs Seeks HRD Minister’s Intervention

The MPs also expressed concern over the “total breakdown” of communication and democratic procedures because of the “autocratic behaviour” of the current JNU vice chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar.

New Delhi: A multi-party delegation of elder parliamentarians on Thursday met Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and sought his intervention to resolve the month-long JNU crisis over the students’ hostel fee hike.

The delegation, which met the minister and submitted to him a memorandum on their demand for resolution of the student crisis, comprised all Rajya Sabha members, including Amee Yajnik, Rajeev Gowda, L. Hanumanthaiah and Syed Naseer Hussain of the Congress, Binoy Viswam and K.K. Ragesh of the CPI and Manoj Jha of RJD, said a release by JNU teachers’ association.

Also read: The JNU Fee Hike Affects Students with Disabilities More Than We Realise

While apprising the minister of the issues raised by the JNU teachers and students, the MPs also expressed concern over the “total breakdown” of communication and democratic procedures because of the “autocratic behaviour” of the current JNU vice chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar.

They urged the minister to intervene in the matter and help break the ongoing deadlock, the JNUTA said.

A joint delegation of the JNU teachers association and students too met and apprised the parliamentarians of various parties of their grievances and sought their intervention in “stemming the rot” in the university administration, the JNUTA said.

The JNU students have been observing a strike for over a month now over the hike in hostel fees.

Home for Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman Gets Finance, Jaishankar to MEA

In major changes at the top, Rajnath Singh moves to defence, Ramesh Pokhriyal to HRD, Smriti Irani gets women and child ministry.

New Delhi: Amit Shah will be the home minister for Narendra Modi’s second term as prime minister, with Rajnath Singh moving to the Ministry of Defence. In place of Arun Jaitley, who asked not to be given any responsibility, Nirmala Sitharaman will take over as the minister of finance. Former foreign secretary S. Jaishankar will take over the external affairs ministry from Sushma Swaraj, who did not contest the election.

PM Modi will also be in-charge of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, department of atomic energy, department of space; and “all important policy issues” and all other portfolios not allocated to any minister. The Union government released the full list of ministers and their portfolios on Friday, after 58 leaders took oath as ministers on Thursday. Of these, 24 were of the cabinet rank, while another 24 took oath as ministers of state and another nine as ministers of state (independent charge)

Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari at the oath taking ceremony. Credit: PTI

Nitin Gadkari was retained as the minister of road transport and highways, while Piyush Goyal will also remain as the minister of railways. Several ministers were given charge of the same portfolios: Ravi Shankar Prasad (law), Thaawar Chand Gehlot (social justice and empowerment), Ramvilas Paswan (consumer affairs, food and public distribution), Harsimrat Kaur Badal (food processing industries), Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (minority affairs).

Smriti Irani was given charge of women and child development, apart from her previous portfolio of textiles.

Ramesh Pokhriyal will be the HRD minister, while Arjun Munda will take over as minister for tribal affairs in place of the dropped Jual Oram. Prakash Javadekar will be the minister for environment, forest and climate change and information and broadcasting, while Harsh Vardhan retained the portfolios of health, science and technology and earth sciences.

Women ministers take their oath. Credit: PTI

Former Karnataka chief minister Sadananda Gowda was made the minister of chemicals and fertilizers, while his Karnataka counterpart Prahlad Joshi was given charge of parliamentary affairs, coal and mines. The portfolios of other cabinet ministers are: Dharmendra Pradhan (petroleum and natural gas; steel), Mahendra Nath Pandey (skill development and entrepreneurship), A.G. Sawant (heavy industries and public enterprise), Giriraj Singh (animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries) and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (jal shakti).

The full list of the ministers and their portfolios is below.

Cabinet ministers

Raj Nath Singh: Minister of Defence

Amit Shah: Minister of Home Affairs

Nitin Jairam Gadkari: Minister of Road Transport and Highways; and Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

D.V. Sadananda Gowda: Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Nirmala Sitharaman: Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs.

Ramvilas Paswan: Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Narendra Singh Tomar: Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Minister of Rural Development; and Minister of Panchayati Raj.

Ravi Shankar Prasad: Minister of Law and Justice; Minister of Communications; and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Minister of Food Processing Industries.

Thaawar Chand Gehlot: Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar: Minister of External Affairs.

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’: Minister of Human Resource Development.

Arjun Munda: Minister of Tribal Affairs.

Smriti Zubin Irani: Minister of Women and Child Development; and Minister of Textiles.

Harsh Vardhan: Minister of Health and Family Welfare; Minister of Science and Technology; and Minister of Earth Sciences.

Prakash Javadekar: Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

Piyush Goyal: Minister of Railways; and Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Dharmendra Pradhan: Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Steel.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: Minister of Minority Affairs.

Pralhad Joshi: Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines.

Mahendra Nath Pandey: Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Arvind Ganpat Sawant: Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise.

Giriraj Singh: Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: Minister of Jal Shakti.

Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

Santosh Kumar Gangwar: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Rao Inderjit Singh: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning.

Shripad Yesso Naik: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH); and Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence

Jitendra Singh: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and
Minister of State in the Department of Space.

Kiren Rijiju: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Prahalad Singh Patel: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Culture; and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism.

Raj Kumar Singh: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Hardeep Singh Puri: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Mansukh L. Mandaviya: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Shipping; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

Ministers of State

Faggansingh Kulaste: Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel.

Ashwini Kumar Choubey: Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Arjun Ram Meghwal: Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

General (Retd.) V. K. Singh: Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Krishan Pal: Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Danve Raosaheb Dadarao: Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

G. Kishan Reddy: Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Parshottam Rupala: Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Ramdas Athawale: Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti: Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development.

Babul Supriyo: Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Sanjeev Kumar Balyan: Minister of State in the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao: Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development; Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Anurag Singh Thakur: Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Angadi Suresh Channabasappa: Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.

Nityanand Rai: Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Rattan Lal Kataria: Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

V. Muraleedharan: Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Renuka Singh Saruta: Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Som Parkash: Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Rameswar Teli: Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Pratap Chandra Sarangi: Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

Kailash Choudhary: Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri: Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Portfolios of ministers by The Wire on Scribd

Modi Set to Name Amit Shah as New Finance Minister: Reports

Shah is tipped to replace Arun Jaitley, who wrote to Modi on Wednesday asking not to be considered for a ministerial position because of health problems.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to name Amit Shah, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the new finance minister after taking his oath of office for the second time on Thursday, according to several media reports.

As Modi’s right-hand man and long-time strategist, Shah would be in a powerful position to direct financial policy in Asia’s third-largest economy in his first role as a federal lawmaker.

Shah masterminded the BJP‘s landslide victory in the April-May general election, but there are questions about his lack of Central government experience and financial background, especially at a time of growing signs of weakness in the economy.

Modi is expected to announce his ministers’ departments on Friday, after all of them were sworn in on Thursday evening at an open-air ceremony with some 8,000 guests including Bollywood stars and leaders of neighbours Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The 54-year-old Shah, among 57 new and old ministers who will join Modi in the next government, pledged to give his best to create a strong and prosperous India.

“This team is a blend of youthful energy and administrative experience,” Modi said on Twitter. “It has people who have excelled as parliamentarians and those who have had distinguished professional careers. Together, we will work for India’s progress.”

The BJP swept to victory in the general election, held over 39 days, and increased its majority in the lower house of parliament.

Shah is tipped to replace Arun Jaitley, who wrote to Modi on Wednesday asking not to be considered for a ministerial position because of health problems.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures towards supporters after his oath during a swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in New Delhi, India May 30, 2019. Credit: Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Shah would be taking over the finance portfolio at a sensitive time. He will probably need to move quickly to stimulate an economy beset by weak farm incomes, slow jobs growth and falling sales of key consumer goods including cars and motorbikes.

This week, two major industrial bodies called on the new government to take steps to bolster a growth rate that slowed to 6.6% in the three months to December – the lowest in five quarters – and is expected to have dropped further to 6.3% between January and March.

‘Gets things done’

Several investors and traders said they did not expect Indian markets to react much if Shah’s appointment was confirmed, believing his ability to get things done would offset his lack of financial experience.

“The hallmark of this government is that there’s more PMO (prime minister’s office)-driven strategy and guidance,” said Jayesh Shroff, co-founder of investment advisory firm Cask Capital. “So, to that extent, you don’t need a proper technocrat to run the finance ministry – you need someone who can get things done.”

Others were more wary.

“We have no clue of what this guy knows or his financial knowledge,” said a trader at a private bank, who declined to be identified. “The market will take some time to understand his views.”

In the election campaign, Shah helped galvanise the BJP‘s nationalist base and make up for the loss of key state elections in December. Part of his strategy included deftly exploiting national security fears.

“He’s a very hard taskmaster even as party president,” political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay said. “Very soon he acquires this ability to be one step ahead of the people who are part of his team. The finance ministry or whichever ministry he handles is going to be run with an iron fist.”

India will also have a new foreign minister, with incumbent Sushma Swaraj, who has had health issues, sitting among the audience but not on the dais with Modi’s new ministerial team.

In the federal Indian system of appointments, ministers are sworn in before their specific positions are announced.

A potential replacement for Swaraj could be former foreign secretary, S. Jaishankar, who took an oath as a cabinet minister. A former ambassador to the United States and China, Jaishankar led India’s diplomatic corps during Modi’s first term before retiring in early 2018 and subsequently joining the Tata Group conglomerate.

Shah and Jaishankar were not available for comment.

Many other ministers who are also senior members of the ruling coalition are expected to retain their cabinet jobs.

The BJP controls 303 of the 545 seats in the lower house, which might tempt Modi to push for controversial land and labour reforms to help stimulate the economy.

(Reuters)

As Amit Shah, S. Jaishankar Enter Cabinet, Modi Drops Suresh Prabhu, Maneka Gandhi

In the absence of Sushma Swaraj, Jaishankar may get MEA portfolio; Piyush Goyal may step in for Arun Jaitley as finance minister.

New Delhi: President Ramnath Kovind on Thursday administered the oath to Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the presence of a large number of dignitaries, including heads of other countries.

Notable among those who took oath for the first time and as cabinet ministers were BJP president Amit Shah and former foreign secretary S. Jaishankar. On the other hand, two prominent ministers of the Modi government’s first reign did not figure in the government this time. They were Sushma Swaraj, who was earlier external affairs minister and did not contest the elections on health grounds, and Arun Jaitley, who held the finance portfolio earlier, and who wrote to Modi on Wednesday asking to be exempted for health reasons too. Jaitley underwent a kidney transplant last year and his condition has not yet stabilised.

A total of 58 ministers took oath, of which 25 are cabinet rank, nine are ministers of state (independent charge) and 24 are ministers of state (MoS).

Among former ministers, Arun Jaitley had announced his unavailability due to health, as had Sushma Swaraj, even before the elections. But eyebrows were raised when several high profile ministers from Modi’s first tenure failed to make the cut this time: Suresh Prabhu, Maneka Gandhi, Jayant Sinha and Mahesh Sharma.

After Modi took oath, former BJP president Rajnath Singh, who held the home portfolio previously, was sworn-in, indicating that he would remain the second most important person, at least officially, in the new Modi government.

After Singh, it was Shah who was sworn in. He won his first Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar. The seat was earlier represented by BJP’s senior leader L.K. Advani. Shah would now be moving from the Rajya Sabha to the Lok Sabha.

Amit Shah being sworn in on May 30, 2019, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Source: Twitter

A number of other senior cabinet ministers of Modi’s first government returned. Nitin Gadkari, who held the shipping, road transport and highways portfolios in the previous government, was also sworn-in.

Former Karnataka chief minister D.V. Sadanand Gowda, who was minister of statistics and programme implementation in the previous government, was also sworn in as a cabinet minister.

Nirmala Sitharaman, who earlier had the defence portfolio, was the first woman to be sworn in on Thursday.

With Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley not in the cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Security will have two new faces this time.

Piyush Goyal, a confidant of Modi, who was minister of state (independent charge) for power, coal and new and renewable energy initially before taking over as the railway minister, was also sworn in. It is widely believed that in the absence of Jaitley, he may be given the finance ministry. Incidentally, he had also presented the interim budget earlier this year.

Attendees watch ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party being sworn in on May 30, 2019, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Source: Twitter

The first non-BJP NDA leader to be sworn in was Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party. He was previously the minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution. He is an eight time Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP, who first became a minister in the V.P. Singh government in 1989.

Narendra Singh Tomar was also sworn in as cabinet minister. He was minister of rural development, minister of parliamentary affairs, panchayati raj and mines in the previous government.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, who defeated BJP-rebel Shatrughan Sinha in Patna Sahib, was again sworn in as a cabinet minister. He was the law minister in the earlier government.

From the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) – BJP’s oldest ally in the NDA – Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had the food processing portfolio earlier, was re-inducted as a cabinet minister.

The BJP’s Madhya Pradesh leader Thawar Chand Gehlot also took oath as a cabinet minister. He was minister of social justice and empowerment in the earlier government.

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was also sworn in as a cabinet minister for the first time.

Former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda was also inducted into the Union cabinet for the first time.

The third woman to be inducted into the Union Cabinet was Smriti Zubin Irani. She held the textiles portfolio in the previous government and had also defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his family bastion of Amethi.

Smriti Irani being sworn in on May 30, 2019, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Source: Twitter

Senior Delhi politician Harsh Vardhan, who was minister for environment and forests and science and technology in the earlier government, was also given the cabinet rank.

Former BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, who held the human resource development portfolio in the previous government, was also sworn in.

Dharmendra Pradhan, who was minister of petroleum and natural gas and skill development in the previous government, also took oath.

The BJP has also retained Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was minister for minority affairs.

Former president of the BJP’s Karnataka unit, Prahlad Joshi, was also administered oath by the president.

Former minister in the Modi government and president of UP BJP, Mahendra Nath Pandey, was also inducted into the cabinet.

Arvind Ganpat Sawant of the Shiv Sena, who was chosen to represent his party in the government, also took oath.

Giriraj Singh, who was minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises in the previous government, has also been given a cabinet rank.

Former minister of state for agriculture and farmer welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has also been promoted to the Cabinet rank.

In May 2014, a total of just 46 ministers were sworn in. The council then comprised 24 cabinet ministers, ten ministers of state with independent charge and 12 MoS.

By the time the term ended, Modi seemed to move away from the slogan of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. The size of his council ballooned to 70. At the last count, the first Modi government had 25 cabinet ministers, 11 MoS (independent charge) and 34 MoS.

This time, 25 cabinet ministers have been sworn in.

Tibetan Leader Lobsang Sangey Not Invited to Modi’s Swearing-In This Time

When the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile was invited five years ago, China lodged an official protest with the Indian government.

New Delhi: Compared to five years ago, there was one face missing among the thousands of guests invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday.

In 2014, Lobsang Sangey, the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, was among the array of high-profile guests who watched Modi being sworn in. This time, he was absent.

A central Tibetan administration official told The Wire that it had not received an invite from the Indian government. “The CTA administration has not received an invitation this time,” CTA information secretary Tsewang Gyalpo Arya told The Wire.

After Modi’s re-election on May 23, Sangey sent a congratulatory message, noting, “No country has done more for Tibetans than India and its generous people.”

“I hope that the bond shared between India and Tibet will continue to remain strong and India will continue to support the just cause of Tibet,” he wrote.

Sangey is currently abroad on an official tour in the US and is scheduled to return to India on June 4.

China irked five years ago

When Sangey was spotted at Rashtrapati Bhawan on May 26, 2014, it raised eyebrows as this was the first time that political leaders of the CTA were invited to the swearing-in ceremony of any leader of the Indian government.

It had certainly raised eyebrows in Beijing. China lodged an official protest with India about Sangey’s presence at the presidential palace.

India has a one-China policy, but has provided space to Tibetan refugees and considers the Dalai Lama a “revered spiritual leader”.

Five years ago, China was quick off the mark. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi traveled to Delhi as a special envoy to meet with the new Indian leadership.

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and President of China Xi Jinping
Credit: Wikimedia-Commons

Fraught relations over Modi’s first term

However, India’s relations with China remained fraught for the larger part of Modi’s first term.

In April 2015, China formally announced the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which would pass through the disputed region of Gilgit-Baltistan. India has stayed out of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, largely based on its opposition to the CPEC’s route.

That same month, India gave visas for Uighur activists to attend a conference on China and democracy in Dharamshala. After official protests from China, India revoked the visa for some of the participants travelling from Germany, US and Hong Kong. However, the conference took place, but with a lower profile.

Also Read: The Modi Government Must Realise the Folly of India Playing the ‘Tibet Card’

In 2016, India’s high-octane diplomacy for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group could not move China to remove its objection at the plenary meeting in Seoul.

There were other pin-pricks, such as China’s hold over the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad supremo Masood Azhar in the UN.

The relations reached their lowest trough over the Doklam crisis in 2017, when the armies of China and India remained on a stand-off for 73 days near the tri-junction border region in Bhutan. It ended when troops of both countries withdrew to their previous position.

The informal summit in Wuhan in May 2018 was the official ‘reset’ to Sino-Indian ties, which have remained on an even keel since then.

Chinese and Indian Army troops. Credit: PTI/Files

Maintaining momentum

Ahead of the informal summit, Indian government issued a circular “discouraging” government officials from attending events commemorating 60 years of the Dalai Lama’s exile in India. This had led the CTA to shift all major events from Delhi to Dharamshala.

China’s removal of its hold on the listing of Masood Azhar earlier this month was Beijing’s signal that it didn’t want this issue to remain on the table.

With India set to host President Xi Jinping for the second informal summit later this year, the exclusion of Lobsang Sangey from the invitation list is a sign that both sides do not want to take any steps that will irk the other and shatter the current momentum in relations.