In the last Cabinet reshuffle of the UPA II Government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday inducted eight new Ministers, four of whom are in the Cabinet rank, to fill the vacancies created by exit of allies DMK and Trinamool Congress and resignation of PK Bansal.
He has given greater importance to poll-bound Rajasthan and trouble-torn Andhra Pradesh to revive the party’s fortunes, but in the process the hype surrounding the “youth brigade” has been compromised.
A day after the Congress reshuffle brought youth leaders to the forefront, octogenarian Sis Ram Ola along with Oscar Fernandes, Girija Vyas and KS Rao were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers. The average age of the eight Minister inducted on Monday stood at 64 years. The eldest, Ola is 86-years-old while the youngest Jesudasu Seelam is 60.
Four new Ministers of States — Manikrao Gavit, Santosh Chowdhary, EMS Natchiappan and Seelam — were administered oath by President Pranab Mukherjee in the historic Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other senior Ministers.
Mallikarjun Kharge, who had lost the Karnataka Chief Minister’s post to Siddaramaiah, has been placated by being given the Railways portfolio.
The Ministry was vacated by the resignation of CP Joshi, who has been drafted for party work. The labour Ministry, earlier held by Kharge, has been allotted to Ola.
The induction of veteran Ola is aimed to appease dominant Jat votes in Rajasthan. Similarly, by making Vyas, who is the Congress Chief Whip in the lok Sabha, as the new Urban Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister in place of Ajay Maken, the party is making efforts to lure Brahmins before the November Assembly elections. Both these communities are reportedly unhappy with the Ashok Gehlot Government, and the BJP has been trying to wean them towards it.
The Congress, which has failed to take any stand on the contentious Telangana issue despite the ongoing agitation, inducted two Ministers, Rao and Seelam from the State. Rao, who is a businessman-turned-politician, has been given the Textile Ministry vacated by DMK Minister Dayanidhi Maran while Seelam will work under P Chidambaram in the Finance Ministry, a seat lying vacant after the exit of DMK.
By inducting Rao, who is a supporter of United Andhra Pradesh, both in the Cabinet and even in the Congress Working Committee, the party has also given the signal that it is not yet ready to concede the demand for a separate State. Interestingly, the five-term MP Rao had almost resigned his lok Sabha seat last October upset over being ignored in the previous Cabinet reshuffle.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's trusted aide Oscar Fernandes has been shifted from the party to work in the Government as the new Road Transport and Highways Minister in place of Joshi. The five-term MP from Karnataka, Oscar was working as Congress General Secretary Incharge of the Central Election Committee. 72-year-old Oscar was even the Minister in the past and had handled tricky negotiations with North Eastern insurgents.
After the exit of two senior Ministers from Punjab-Bansal and Ashwani Kumar-the PM inducted three-time MP Santosh Chowdhary from the State as Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. EMS Natchiappan, who represents Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha and had played a crucial role in drafting many legislations as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on law and Justice in the past, has been made MoS Commerce and Industry. Dalit leader from Maharashtra Gavit has been given the responsibility of Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.