Sir — ‘Minimum Government, maximum governance’ is an ideal, but not always easy to implement. So it comes as no surprise that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to expand and rejig his Council of Minister. Overlooking controversial baggage to accommodate regional and caste considerations, Mr Modi seems to have placed trusted aides in defence and railways. Indian Railways is big in his scheme of thing and, according to a newspaper report, he had given the railways a list of 30-odd tasks to be performed for an overall turnaround.
I thought Mr Sadananda Gowda did try, but somehow things did not move. Mr Gowda was probably increasingly being seen as someone out of his depth, unable to get work done, and also devoid of any big idea to lead the Railways Ministry that has the biggest people-connect. Hence he was gently shunted out.
But the biggest surprise is Mr Harsh Vardhan losing the Health portfolio. Probably he too was mismatching the expectations of the Prime Minister. I understand the medical professionals have reacted with surprise. They wonder whether the change might have had something to do with his attempts to reform the Medical Council of India.