New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expansion of his Council of Ministers turned out to be a redrawing of his entire team, with major changes in portfolios held by senior members. This seems to be a consequence of a very thorough performance appraisal done by Mr.Modi of his Ministers over th last three months, during his monethly meetings with his entire council.
Prakash Javadekar, promoted on Tuesday morning to cabinet rank, was one of the biggest gainers in the prestigious Human Resource Development portfolio. He replaces Smriti Irani, who has been handed the Textiles portfolio. This brings to an end Ms. Irani’s controversyridden tenure, which saw unrest break out in campuses across the country.
By all accounts Modi’s Cabinet reshuffle is novel and major but it will not change the contours of the power balance at the top. For, he has left veterans Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari untouched. Arun Jaitley has lost I&B but this loss isn’t big enough to dent his position vis a vis Modi given that Finance, the all-powerful Ministry, remains firmly under him. Jaitley was considered a “reluctant” I&B Minister. The ministry, vital to shaping the public image of the Modi government, will have a relatively conservative but senior M Venkaiah Naidu.
Prakash Javadekar, promoted on Tuesday morning to cabinet rank, was one of the biggest gainers in the prestigious Human Resource Development portfolio. He replaces Smriti Irani, who has been handed the Textiles portfolio. This brings to an end Ms. Irani’s controversyridden tenure, which saw unrest break out in campuses across the country.
By all accounts Modi’s Cabinet reshuffle is novel and major but it will not change the contours of the power balance at the top. For, he has left veterans Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari untouched. Arun Jaitley has lost I&B but this loss isn’t big enough to dent his position vis a vis Modi given that Finance, the all-powerful Ministry, remains firmly under him. Jaitley was considered a “reluctant” I&B Minister. The ministry, vital to shaping the public image of the Modi government, will have a relatively conservative but senior M Venkaiah Naidu.