Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid and Jayanthi Natarajan got key portfolios in the reshuffle of the Union council of ministers on Tuesday evening. But Mr Gurudas Kamat, who was elevated in the reshuffle, resigned from the government shortly after the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan citing “personal reasons”.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dropped seven ministers, including Dr M.S. Gill, the second major casualty of last year’s Delhi Commonwealth Games; the first was Mr Suresh Kalmadi, MP.
The Prime Minister brought eight new faces into his team. No technocrat or academic figured in the reshuffle despite the Prime Minister holding at least five meetings with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the exercise, which was influenced by political considerations and coalition compulsions.
After the reshuffle, Dr Singh said this was the last reshuffle before the next Lok Sabha elections. However, he made it clear that he had kept two slots vacant for the DMK, whose two ministers resigned under a cloud.
The DMK, a key ally of the Congress in the UPA, did not send replacements for its two Cabinet ministers — A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran — who have resigned in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. The DMK is expected to decide on the issue at its general council meeting on July 23-24 in Coimbatore.
The DMK has only one minister of Cabinet rank in chemicals and fertilisers minister M.K. Alagiri.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s impact on the Cabinet reshuffle was seen clearly in that two of his close associates, Mr Milind Deora and Mr Jitendra Singh, became ministers of state (communications and information technology and home affairs respectively) for the first time.
The Prime Minister did not touch the top four ministries of home, finance, defence and external affairs and let the power ministry stay with Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, contrary to speculation within the Congress that he would be shifted. His decision to make Mr Khurshid law minister in the current situation is important. Mr Khurshid may not have the qualities that an earlier incumbent, current Karnataka governor H.R. Bhardwaj, had when he headed this ministry, but Mr Khurshid could play an important role at a time when the role of the judiciary is expanding. The PM took away the law portfolio from Mr M. Veerappa Moily in the light of several embarrassments to the government in the Supreme Court and brought Mr Khurshid into the ministry.
The elevation of Mr Jairam Ramesh from MoS (independent charge) to a full-fledged Cabinet minister, for rural development, is significant. The elite and urban face of the Congress is seen as a proactive minister but one who often courted controversy with his handling of environment issues. The rural development ministry was earlier headed by Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (of the RJD), C.P. Joshi and Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, a new face in the government, has been made MoS (independent charge) for environment and forests. Veteran parliamentarian from Andhra Pradesh V. Kishore Chandra Deo makes his debut as Cabinet minister for tribal affairs and panchayati raj; he is also the third minister from the state after Mr S. Jaipal Reddy as, technically, Mr Ramesh also represents Andhra. Mr V.K. Chandra Deo rejoins the government after over three decades; he was a Union minister in 1979-80.
Those elevated in this exercise are Mr Beni Prasad Verma, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, Mr Srikant Jena and Mr Gurudas Kamat. Mr Verma was MoS (independent charge) for steel. He been made a Cabinet-rank minister keeping in mind the sending out of positive signals to the Kurmi community ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2012.
Mr Trivedi of the Trinamul Congress was earlier MoS for health and family welfare. He is now Cabinet minister in charge of the railways. Mr Jena, who was earlier an MoS, has been made MoS (independent charge) for statistics and programme implementation. However, he will continue to remain MoS for chemicals and fertilisers.
Mr Kamat was made MoS (independent charge) for the newly-created drinking water and sanitation ministry, but he resigned shortly after the swearing-in ceremony.
The other new faces in the council of ministers are Ms Jayanthi Natarajan (environment and forests), Dibrugarh MP Paban Singh Ghatowar (development of northeastern region), Trinamul Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyaya (health and family welfare), Alwar MP Jitendra Singh (home affairs), Milind Deora (communications and IT) and Rajiv Shukla (parliamentary affairs).
The ministers dropped from the Cabinet are Dr M.S. Gill (statistics and programme implementation), Mr B.K. Handique (development of northeastern region), Mr Kantilal Bhuria (tribal affairs), Mr Murli Deora (corporate affairs), Mr Dayanidhi Maran (textiles), Mr A. Sai Prathap (heavy industries and public enterprises) and Mr Arun S. Yadav (agriculture and food processing industries).
The restructuring exercise appeared incomplete with additional charge of textiles and water resources being given to Mr Anand Sharma and Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal respectively. Mr Sharma retains commerce and industry and Mr Bansal retains parliamentary affairs.
HRD minister Kapil Sibal continues to hold additional charge of communications while overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi retains additional charge of civil aviation. The lone Congress MP from Chhattisgarh, Mr Charan Das Mahant, makes his debut as MoS for agriculture and food processing.
Mr Kamat had been shifted from the home affairs and communications and IT ministries to a new ministry — drinking water and sanitation — with independent charge. Rural development minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has been shifted to science and technology and earth sciences.
MoS for external affairs E. Ahamed has been also been allocated the HRD portfolio. Ministers of state V. Narayanasamy and Ashwani Kumar shed the parliamentary affairs portfolios, which have gone to new entrant Rajiv Shukla, and Mr Harish Rawat, who retains his post as MoS for agriculture and food processing.
Minister of state for shipping and railways Mukul Roy, who on Monday defied the Prime Minister by not visiting the rail accident site in Assam, has been divested of the railway portfolio. MoS for steel A. Sai Prathap and MoS for rural development Arun Yadav were also dropped from the council of ministers. Mr Yadav, son of Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Subhash Yadav, has been appointed an AICC secretary.