Sunday, May 25, 2003
Sunday, May 25, 2003 |
| Front Page | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Front Page
By Harish Khare
The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Prime Minster, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, with the new Ministers after the swearing-in-ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday. From left are Subodh Mohite, P.C. Thomas, Rajnath Singh, B.C. Khunduri, Nag Mani, Chinmaya Anand Swami (Prahalad Singh Patel and Kailash Meghwal are behind Mr. Vajpayee.)
The Minister of State-level entrants are: Chinmayanand Swami (BJP), Kailash Meghwal (BJP), Nagmani (Rashtriya Janata Dal-Democratic), Prahlad Singh Patel (BJP) and P.C. Thomas (Indian Federal Democratic Party). Mr. Khanduri gets promoted to Cabinet rank, while Mr. Mohite comes in place of his Shiv Sena colleague, Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil. The new Ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy by the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this evening. The most exciting element in the reshuffle of portfolios is the independent charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for Rajiv Pratap Rudy (who was Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce). The elevation of Maj. Gen. (retd.) Khanduri to Cabinet rank (in the same Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) is conceded as recognition of a high level of integrity. However, the much awaited Cabinet expansion lost its sheen when Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress refused to join the Union Cabinet. Ms. Banerjee's proposed induction was being cited as the original provocation for this expansion. However, Ms. Banerjee baulked at taking oath because the BJP bosses appeared determined to jettison the existing NDA convention that permits the leader of an alliance partner the final say on who shall represent the party in the Union Government. The BJP leaders were insistent on including Sudip Bandyopadhyay, a "dissident" who had developed a warm working relationship with the ruling party when Ms. Banerjee herself was playing distant and cold. There was little joy for the NDA managers when they discovered that a sulking Ms. Banerjee had not landed in the capital. Instead, the Trinamool leader faxed a letter to the Prime Minister, seeking "clarification" on whether he was thinking of inducting a nominee of the Trinamool Congress without her consent. The BJP bosses were confidently asserting in private that Mr. Bandyopadhyay deserved to be rewarded for giving aid and comfort to the ruling party against Ms. Banerjee's preferences and that she could not be given any choice or say in the matter. In her letter, Ms. Banerjee invoked Mr. Vajpayee's own mantra of coalition "dharma", and said: "The proposed inclusion of Shri Bandyopadhyay will go against this basic `dharma' of coalition politics. You would, I am sure, agree with me that each of the political parties in a coalition must have total freedom and autonomy in its decision-making process, including the selection of any member of the party for inclusion in the Ministry." Ms. Banerjee's fax prompted yet another round of consultation by the Prime Minister with his senior colleagues. Meanwhile, the NDA convener and Ms. Banerjee's most vocal advocate, George Fernandes, as well as the BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, also spoke to Ms. Banerjee. However, as it became evident that Ms. Banerjee would not relent, the Prime Minister decided to "defer" — for now — the Trinamool Congress induction into his Cabinet. Curiously enough, while the BJP bosses were determined to have their way with Ms. Banerjee, they quietly gave in to the Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray. Mr. Thackeray suddenly decided to ask Mr. Vikhe-Patil, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, to resign; in his place, he nominated Mr. Mohite. The Sena leader had invoked the NDA principle once before when he secured the resignation of Suresh Prabhu, who at that time was widely considered to be the most efficient member of the Vajpayee Government. Earlier in the day, a Rashtrapati Bhavan press communique noted that the President had accepted the resignations of Ajit Singh and Gingee Ramachandran, who had resigned from the Vajpayee Government yesterday. Among the Cabinet-level Ministers, Mr. Rajnath Singh gets the agriculture portfolio, while Shahnawaz Hussain goes to the Ministry of Textiles and Kashiram Rana takes over as Minister for Rural Development. Portfolios of 11 Ministers of State have also been (re)-allocated.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
