Tuesday’s cabinet reshuffle left many disappointed. The expectation was that it was an image makeover exercise and that it had failed to achieve that. This was a certain presumption which was quite off the mark because that was not what Congress president Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh had in mind.
They did not see the reshuffle exercise as one of the ways of countering the dented image of the government as a result of the scams of last six months — the 2G spectrum allocation issue, the Commonwealth Games.
It is an image battle that has to be fought in other ways and on other grounds. The induction of new ministers and the shuffling of portfolios was more in the nature of a household chore for the better day-to-day working of the government.
As seasoned politician and NCP president Sharad Pawar told DNA, this was an exercise to fill in the vacancies caused by the Congress, DMK and the TMC members leaving the cabinet for different reasons. DMK’s A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran had to resign because of 2G Spectrum scam, TMC president and railway minister Mamata Banerjee left because she won the West Bengal assembly election in May and took over as the chief minister of the state.
Congress’ Murli Deora announced his resignation — whatever the real reasons may be - he has made way for his son Milind Deora’s entry into the government.
And then there were the vacancies caused by the exit of Prithviraj Chauhan who went over to Mumbai to take over as chief minister of the state. This had necessitated re-allocation of work.
It would be hard to deny that the reshuffle had to be done within the complex dynamics of coalition government and the sensitivities of the allies. On the one hand, Banerjee-led TMC-Congress alliance had scored a dramatic victory in West Bengal, ending 34 years of Left rule in that state. On the other, the DMK was decimated in Tamil Nadu’s assembly elections, and its ministers were facing serious charges in 2G spectrum allocation. The two had to be handled differently. The TMC expected desserts for its victory, and its member Dinesh Trivedi had to be given the railway ministry which was held by Banerjee. DMK anxieties had to be allayed. Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee met him at Chennai a few days ago. Singh himself made clear after the swearing-in ceremony that the two berths for DMK will be filled later.
In idyllic terms, this untidy aspect of house management may seem politics of the cynical kind but there is no escaping the harsh reality. The prime minister and Gandhi can be faulted for yielding to unjustified pressure and offering the railway ministry to TMC in the same way that the DMK laid claim to and kept telecom ministry in the last seven years of the UPA government. Coalition partners can bargain for a place in government but they cannot insist on particular ministries. It raises too many suspicions. But the Congress is not in a position to dictate.
Despite the extremely limited space for manoeuvre, there are some bright spots. The induction of Kishore Chandra Deo as minister for tribal affairs and panchayati raj has evoked approval from all because Deo is not only one the most senior parliamentarians but also known for his straightforwardness. He was the chairman of the privileges committee of the Lok Sabha. The articulate and media-savvy Jairam Ramesh to rural development can be seen as a good decision both politically and administratively.
Salman Khursheed is one of the bright members of the cabinet - intelligent and articulate - and the government needed to have a suave law minister to tackle many of the challenges on the judicial front, including the issues of bringing in the Lokpal bill and the judges’ accountability bill.
This is a government with its back to the wall as far as its popularity ratings are concerned. Even if Gandhi and Singh had hoped to score brownie points, they would realise that it has failed to make the desired impact. But they seem to have a realistic awareness of the range and magnitude of problems they face. They will accept the thumbs down for the reshuffle with equanimity.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_cabinet-reshufle-well-it-s-manmohan-singh-s-best-hand_1565190
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