The Cabinet reshuffle today once again reinforced that one had to expect the unexpected from the Narendra Modi government. It was a clear message as the government gears up for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections – the performers will be rewarded and laxity will not be tolerated.
In a huge endorsement of her capabilities, Nirmala Sitharaman has been made the new Defence Minister, a portfolio that Arun Jaitley was handling as an additional charge as Finance Minister. With this Sitharaman has become the first woman Defence Minister after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who had kept the Defence Portfolio with herself.
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Sitharaman was not only elevated to the rank of Cabinet minister today, she was given the crucial Defence ministry, taking her to the top echelons of the government. As defence minister she will be part of the sensitive Cabinet Committee on Security. Sitharaman’s elevation is one of the biggest developments coming out of the Cabinet reshuffle.
In another expected development, Piyush Goyal – who was also elevated to the Cabinet rank today --has been made the railway minister. Suresh Prabhu, who had offered to resign after a series of derailments, was relieved of the accident-prone railways and give charge of Commerce.
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Nitin Gadkari, doing very well as road and highways minister, was given the additional charge of water resources and Namami Ganga, a project very close to PM Modi’s heart and at which Uma Bharti had failed to make any headway. Bharti was given a much weakened ministry of drinking water and sanitation. Another minister who got a leg-up in the reshuffle is Dharmendra Pradhan. He was given the Cabinet rank and additional portfolio of skill development ministry along with his existing Petroleum ministry.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy was the skill development minister who had earlier resigned to take up organization work for the party in Kerala and Tripura.
The reshuffle also marked the entry of bureaucrats into the Cabinet in a big way. Not apologetic about a lack of talent pool within the party, the BJP did not hesitate in getting friendly bureaucrats into the government. IFS officer Hardeep Puri was given independent charge of housing and urban affairs, a ministry that was under Venkaiah Naidu earlier. IPS officers R.K. Singh (former home secretary who had investigated Hindu terror) and Satyapal Singh made an entry into the Cabinet as did Kerala IAS officer K. Alphons. Alphons, as DDA commissioner in Delhi, had come to be known as the Demolition Man for his lack of tolerance for illegal constructions. He has been given independent charge of the Tourism ministry.
