Cabinet reshuffle: PM Modi to recast team with nine new faces
NEW DELHI: The Modi ministry is set for a major recast — its third in as many years — on Sunday with a slew of elevations and nine inductions with GenNext leaders Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Nirmala Sitharaman tipped to get full Cabinet status and others such as Rajyavardhan Rathore and Jitendra Singh expected to get meatier assignments. The inductions will include former foreign service officer Hardeep Puri and former IAS officer K J Alphons, a former DDA commissioner. Both are not currently MPs. Read this story in Gujarati Others are Uttara Kannada MP Anantkumar Hegde, who has a strongman image, former home secretary and Arrah MP R K Singh, Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh, former Mumbai police commissioner and Baghpat MP Satya Pal Singh, Rajya Sabha MP from UP Shiv Pratap Shukla, Buxar MP Ashwini Chaubey and Tikamgarh MP Virendra Kumar. Meatier role for ministers Rathore, JitendraThe reshuffle will be a BJP only affair and efforts to secure the participation of Janata Dal (U) did not bear fruit. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar scotched "speculation" about the induction of JD(U) representatives, claiming the matter was never discussed with BJP. The new inductions include four former civil servants and seem to reflect a mix of caste equations. There are three Brahmins, two Rajputs, one Dalit, one Jat, one Christian and one Sikh. Former IFS officer Hardeep Puri and former IAS officer K J Alphons could get Independent charge. There is no induction from Gujarat as compared to the poll-bound states of Karnataka and MP, reflecting the assessment that the state polls will revolve around PM Modi's campaign. Rajyavardhan Rathore and Jitendra Singh are being considered for more significant assignments in keeping with their record as diligent and competent ministers. Rathore, who is MoS for information & broadcasting, and Jitendra, MoS in PMO, have impressed the leadership with their diligent and non-controversial style of functioning. The elevations, exits and inductions are intended to address the perception of a poor bench strength and competence. The selection of Alphons and Puri, along with the promotion of Naqvi, marks an effort to reach out to minorities and also keeps in mind BJP's efforts in Kerala. The defence portfolio is likely to remain with finance minister Arun Jaitley. According to official sources, six incumbent ministers — MSME minister Kalraj Mishra joined the list on Saturday — have resigned as part of the restructuring exercise and have been "freed" for other responsibilities. The new ministers, it was said, have been selected with a "clear mandate" to deliver on PM Modi's vision of a "New India", articulated in his Independence Day speech. "The focus is on poor, exploited and deprived sections in terms of policies," said a source. There was considerable action in the BJP camp as Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and Nirmala Sitharaman, ministers of state with Independent charge, look set for a leg-up. Goyal is being seen as Suresh Prabhu's replacement in railways with the BJP leadership feeling he has done a competent job in implementing reforms in the power and coal sectors. Similarly, Pradhan has earned praise for the rollout of schemes like Pahal and Ujjwala and reducing the influence of lobbies in the oil sector policy-making, while Naqvi is seen to have been a competent parliamentary affairs minister with additional charge of minority affairs. Sitharaman is seen to have gained in confidence in handling the commerce ministry and has done well in multilateral negotiations, said party sources. The choice of new ministers reflected, as official sources said, diverse backgrounds and sound qualification in terms of political experience. Jodhpur MP Gajendra Shekhawat's induction seems, at least in part, intended to address Rajput anger over the shooting of criminal Anandpal. The issue was politicised. Also, Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has had a tussle with the Jaipur royal family. Anantkumar Hegde and Virendra Kumar seem to have got the nod with elections coming up next year in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Shiv Pratap Shukla's induction is expected to balance the Rajput-Brahmin equations in eastern UP after the appointment of Yogi Aditya Nath as the CM. Shukla's nomination to the Rajya Sabha earlier was seen as being meant to smooth the way for installation of Yogi, who has often been portrayed as a leader of Rajputs. The expected induction of JD(U) ministers failed to materialise as there could be no agreement on the number of ministers to be sworn in as also the choice within the party. Despite Bihar CM Nitish Kumar having earlier indicated that JD(U) could join the government, he made it plain that this was not on the cards, at least for now. "There was no such talk of JD(U) joining the Union Cabinet. No talks were held on the issue," Kumar said. There was intense speculation on JD(U) nominees joining the government, but party sources did not dismiss it as baseless. So, Nitish's claim that the induction of his nominees was never on the table evoked scepticism and failed to quell the speculation in BJP circles that the choice and number of portfolios may have also been a sticking point. BJP, the grapevine has it, was unwilling to spare key ministries while including more than one nominee from JD(U) would have triggered demands from Shiv Sena and TDP, which contribute more numbers, to enhance their representation. The exercise, going by information filtering through, seemed intended to signal a recognition of competence, axing of non-performers and a balancing act with regard to caste and regional representation, particularly in terms of ministers who are leaving the government. Though the names of BJP general secretaries Bhupendra Yadav and Ram Madhav were also seen to be in contention for a Cabinet pick, they are likely to continue with organisational assignments that are seen to be important. Yadav is in charge of pollbound Gujarat and Madhav has responsibilities in the Northeast and has been a senior interlocutor in the running of the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu & Kashmir.
Narendra Modi govt gets nine new faces; 4 get elevated as Cabinet ministers
Four junior ministers -- Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal were elavated to the cabinet rank and nine fresh faces inducted as Ministers of State in a major rejig of his team by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The new ministers of state sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan include Virendra Kumar, Anant Kumar Hegde and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former IAS officers Alphons Kannanthanam and R K Singh, former diplomat Hardeep Puri and ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh. Two other new faces are Ashwini Kumar Choubey, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, and Shiv Pratap Shukla from Uttar Pradesh. All the new ministers are from the BJP as its allies were not part of the exercise. Six ministers of the Union Cabinet had put in their papers, days ahead of the reshuffle. A highlight of the third reshuffle of the Modi cabinet in as many years is the induction of people with proven administrative ability like Puri, R K Singh, Satyapal Singh and Kannanthanam, underlining the Prime Minister's efforts to give a fresh impetus to governance. Kannanthanam and Puri are presently not members of Parliament and are likely to be elected to the Rajya Sabha within the stipulated six months. The promotion of Naqvi, Pradhan, Sitharaman and Goyal, who were all State Ministers with independent charge, is an endorsement of their good performance, official sources said. Three of the BJP MPs being inducted -- Kumar, Hegde and Shekhawat -- are from Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan respectively where Assembly polls are due next year. Govt's image already tarnished. Whatever changes they make, it's tough to rebuild the image: Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress.
Cabinet reshuffle highlights: PM Modi’s govt to get nine new ministers, say sources
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hand-picked nine new faces for his council of ministers, sources say, even as the re-allocation of some important portfolios are likely on Sunday. This is probably the last major revamp of Modi’s team ahead of the 2019 general elections. The new ministers will be sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, which will start at 10 am. The Prime Minister will leave for China to attend the BRICS summit Sunday afternoon. Highlights of the day. 11:03pm: Swearing-in ceremony of new ministers of the Union government will take place at 10.30 am on Sunday, September 3, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, tweets @rashtrapatibhvn, the official handle of the President of India. 11:00pm: Shiv Pratap Shukla on his possible induction: “I will believe the information to be authentic only when I get it from official sources.” 10:25pm: Ashwini Kumar Choubey, another BJP leader who will likely take oath on Sunday, says he will try his best to honour the trust placed on him by PM Modi. Celebrations begin at his home in Delhi. 10:22pm: Gajendra S Shekhawat, who has reportedly been inducted into the Union cabinet, tells ANI: “Want to thank PM that he trusted me with such a responsibility, it’s a chance to work for country.” 10:00pm: BJP’s Virendra Kumar says, “I have always fulfilled responsibilities the party leadership gave me.” He thanks PM Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and senior leaders after making the cut. 9:58pm: “The inclusion of JD(U) would have been great. It would have helped Bihar,” says JD(U) MP Kaushalendra Kumar. There was a buzz that the NDA partner will join the Union cabinet. But no one from the JD(U) has made the cut. 9:46pm: Sources said the new ministers are going to be strategically placed in key ministries, as PM Modi looks to deliver on his “vision of a New India”. 9:45pm: Sources said as a part of the restructuring exercise, six incumbent ministers have resigned and they will be “freed up for taking on other responsibilities”. 9:40pm: Satya Pal Singh tells ANI: “I have not been officially informed, but whatever is party and PM’s decision I am ready for it.” 9:12pm:The new ministers --- Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur; Satya Pal Singh, LS MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat; Alphons Kannanthanam, a distinguished former IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Kerala cadre. 9:11pm: The new ministers --- Raj Kumar Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Bihar’s Arrah; Hardeep Singh Puri, a decorated former IFS officer. 9:10pm: The new ministers --- Virendra Kumar (SC), Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgah; Anantkumar Hegde, Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka. 9:09pm:The new ministers --- Pratap Shukla, Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh; Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Lok Sabha MP from Bihar’s Buxar. 9:07pm: The Modi government picks nine new ministers, say sources. 8:20pm: Andhra Pradesh BJP president Khari Babu is likely to join the Union cabinet, say media reports. 8:01pm: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan reaches BJP president Amit Shah’s residence in Delhi. 8:00pm: The Congress has raised questions on whether the ministers who may be removed or have resigned have any link to corruption cases that are being probed, PTI reports. It has also accused the Centre of being “selective” and “opportunistic” in dealing with opposition leaders under investigation in corruption cases . “The Prime Minister and the government of India must share the names and departments of persons who have been specifically named,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi tells reporters. 7:45pm: Nitin Gadkari tells ANI that it is PM Modi’s prerogative who should be given what responsibility. “He is the one to decide...” 7:15pm: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) says that the cabinet reshuffle is completely meaningless as it is just a game to divert the public’s mind from the failure of demonetisation. “The cabinet reshuffle is completely meaningless. It is like musical chairs. After the failure of demonetisation, the general mood in the country is that this government has miserably failed. They want to divert attention from this. And, that is why they are playing the game of Cabinet reshuffle,” party general secretary Sitaram Yechury tells ANI. 5:06pm: “We have no information...We got information only from media,” news agency ANI quotes Bihar CM Nitish Kumar as saying. Kumar was talking about the cabinet reshuffle. Earlier, sources in Kumar’s JD(U) told PTI that they had not been informed about their participation in the government. “Our MPs are in Delhi. There was never any issue in the party over participating in the government but there has been no communication to us even though the reshuffle is tomorrow,” a senior JD(U) leader says. 4:00pm: Meanwhile, there’s uncertainty over the participation of the AIADMK and the JD(U) in the Union cabinet. Internal troubles in the AIADMK, which has been hit by a rebellion led by TTV Dinakaran, can prove to be a stumbling block in its joining the government, reports ANI. 3:45pm: NDA partner Shiv Sena has not received any communication from the BJP over the inclusion of its members in the Union cabinet, party chief Uddhav Thackeray says. “I have got news about the Cabinet expansion only from media. I have not enquired about it (from the central BJP leadership). I have neither received any communication from anybody nor are we hungry for power,” Thackeray tells reporters in Mumbai. 2:26pm: Union minister of micro, small and medium enterprises Kalraj Mishra too has resigned ahead of Sunday’s cabinet reshuffle. Mishra, 77, says he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and gave his resignation. He claimed the Prime Minister told him that his performance in the ministry was good. “So the question of non-performance does not arise in my case,” he tells the media. Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya resigned on Friday, adding to the list of ministers who have put in their papers in the past forty-eight hours to make way for new faces. The ministers who have already resigned include minister of state Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who held independent charge of skill development ministry. 1:20pm: Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad tells ANI: “If reshuffling is happening on the basis of work, then Prime Minister Modi should be included in this. Because Prime Minister Modi’s work was the worst be it promises on employment, farmers, law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir, or demonetization.” Why the reshuffle In rejigging his team, Modi is expected to strike a balance between his agenda of governance — by plugging gaps in terms of competence and dynamism in his council of ministers — and political expediency — by giving representation to about half-a-dozen states going to polls by the end of 2018 and reflecting the ruling party’s new social engineering formula. BJP sources said he is likely to put a premium on performance in the re-allocation of portfolios, as was the hint from the list of ministers who were asked to put in their papers. Of the 73 members of the Union council of ministers, at least eight are likely to be edged out. There can be a maximum of 81 members, which gives the Prime Minister the option of inducting at least 15 new faces in the government. He is, however, unlikely to fill up all vacancies. Modi and BJP president Amit Shah met on Thursday evening and the two were understood to have discussed the names that could be considered for induction. The JD(U), which joined the NDA recently, is likely to get two ministerial berths. Important portfolios Some important portfolios, held as additional charges by ministers, are likely to be re-allocated. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, for instance, holds the additional charge of defence ministry. Asked about this dual charge at a function on Thursday evening, Jaitley said, “At least, I hope, not very long.” Suresh Prabhu offered to quit as railway minister after a train accident last week. The PM has asked him to “wait”. There is an old proposal to integrate infrastructure ministries including road transport & highways, shipping and the railways. The PM has not given any indication whether the proposal is back on his table, but BJP sources did not rule out its possibility. The other ministries given to four ministers as additional charge are information and broadcasting, environment and forests, and urban development and housing. There was speculation in the ruling party circles about the likelihood of Smriti Irani retaining I&B ministry but HT could not independently confirm it. (With agency inputs)
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