The Prime Minister’s Office ruled out any confusion over the unprecedented step of removing the list of Cabinet ministers from the PMO’s website on Thursday evening and said that there was nothing political about the action.
While claiming that “there is nothing political about it,” the PMO indicated that the list of Cabinet ministers should be up at the earliest.
Technically, the number two in the Union Cabinet is expected to manage and run the government in absence of the Primer Minister. Every time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was out of country, it was Mr Pranab Mukherjee running the show and his presence in the national capital was mandatory.
Sources said that following “lack of clarity, confusion apparently prevails over the number two slot in the government.”
Conventionally, the number two ranking in the Union Cabinet goes to the seniormost minister from the principal ruling party of the coalition government. Also, the number two in the government is a conventionally member of the cabinet committee on security (CCS).
NCP chief and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s name, which was third on the list till Mr Mukherjee was there in the Cabinet appeared immediately after the Prime Minister. Mr Pawar is an ally and not a member of the CCS.
Some of the seniors being tipped to be number two include home minister P. Chidambaram, defence minister A.K. Antony and external affairs minister S.M. Krishna.
During the NDA regime, even before he was elevated to the post of deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani remained number two in the Vajpayee government.