 "In their modified role, junior ministers no longer pushovers")
In its two-year tenure, the Narendra Modi government has changed several traditions and practices that have over the years determined how governance is delivered from atop Raisina Hill. The recent expansion of the Union council of ministers and reshuffle of portfolios has sought to modify one more — the role of Ministers of State (MoS).
The men and women in Modi’s revamped council of ministers have been carefully selected and a delicate balance between administrative experience and balance of power has been maintained.
This is in contrast to previous regimes where junior ministers were treated as little more than adjuncts. They were rarely, if at all, allowed to look at files or take meetings of officials. At best, junior ministers were left with the job of answering supplementary questions in Parliament. All major decisions were taken by Cabinet ministers, including mundane appointments and transfers. (TEAM MODI)
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“Junior ministers in previous regimes felt suffocated and would frequently complain to the prime minister,” said Yogendra Narain, who was defence secretary during Atal Behari Vajpayee government.
Barely four days after the reshuffle, a wind of change is being felt not only by bureaucrats but also senior ministers. At one such instance, a junior minister politely told his senior he had been authorised by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to take meetings.
One cabinet minister, whose proximity to the PM has helped him keep his job, has asked journalists to direct their queries regarding some of the departments in his ministry to the newly-appointed two junior ministers. While the minister said this exposure would help his juniors develop better understanding of governance, both the MoS in this case are over 60, with past experience in central or state governments.
Narain says entrusting more responsibilities to an MoS is a good trend for effective governance and the PMO should go a step further. “The PMO shouldn’t leave the job of fixing responsibilities to the seniors because they will be reluctant. The PM should define areas of work and mandates to be given to MoS,” he said.
The junior ministers bring experience that adds to the overall profile of the ministries, while maintaining balance of power. For example, Parshottam Rupala, who was agriculture minister in Gujarat, is now MoS, agriculture, under Cabinet minister Radha Mohan Singh. S S Ahluwalia, veteran parliamentarian and minister in the Narasimha Rao government, is the other MoS, agriculture. Sudarshan Bhagat, who was shifted from rural development, is the third MoS, agriculture.
C R Chaudhary is the MoS in food and consumer affairs ministry which is led by Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan. Rural development ministry has got a junior minister in-charge of overall development of rural sector, compared with the earlier norm of allowing junior minister to deal with only drinking water and sanitation.
Sources said the newly-appointed junior ministers were properly briefed about the functioning of their ministries and the main issues at hand before they faced the media. Government is also keeping a close watch on media coverage of junior ministers. They have been asked to get first-hand briefing from all the departments within their ministries. In agriculture ministry, Rupala and Ahluwalia will be briefed by all the 40 departments concerned. “Modi has laid down a clear roadmap for agriculture sector,” said Rupala.
The allocation of business, sources said, would be done directly from the PMO, unlike in the past when a cabinet minister decided what his junior would do.
The MoS, officials said, would be assigned specific jobs and will monitor flagship schemes and their services would also be used to get first-hand feedback from the ground. For example, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, shifted from agriculture to water resources, would be directed to handle the PM’s pet project — Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). The PMKSY was transferred from agriculture to water resources almost a month back — proof that reshuffle and expansion was in the works for more than a month and was based on a SWOT analysis of each ministry.
The Modi government has also consolidated another departure — giving key economic ministries to MoS with independent charge. Examples of these are Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Coal, Power and Mines minister Piyush Goyal, Environment and Forests Minister Anil Madhav Dave, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha and Oil and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, among others.
Other notable appointments among MoS are Mansukh L Mandaviya to Nitin Gadkari-led road transport, highways and shipping ministry. Mandaviya is a 44-year-old MP from Gujarat who was entrusted with key jobs when Modi was chief minister. P P Chaudhary, a Supreme Court advocate, will assist Ravi Shankar Prasad at law and justice ministry. Similarly, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Santosh Gangwar have replaced Jayant Sinha at finance and corporate affairs ministry.
