NATIONAL NEWS
Former officials, ex-diplomat likely to join Modi Cabinet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi.
02 SEPTEMBER 2017 21:28 IST
UPDATED: 03 SEPTEMBER 2017 08:10 IST
No women or MPs belonging to alliance parties figure in the tentative list
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will induct nine new members into his Council of Ministers on Sunday morning, including former head of the Indian delegation at the United Nations Security Council Hardeep Puri, former Home Secretary R.K. Singh, former police commissioner of Mumbai Satyapal Singh and former chief of the Delhi Development Authority K.J. Alphons.
According to sources, the list also includes Bihar MP Ashwini Choubey, MPs from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Virendra Kumar and Karnataka MP Ananth Kumar Hegde. Shiv Pratap Shukla, MP from Uttar Pradesh, is also on the list. The portfolio distribution is yet to be revealed.
The nine have been invited by Mr. Modi for a breakfast meeting at 9 a.m. at his official residence — 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 10.30 a.m. at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
All from BJP
All the nine are from the BJP; Mr. Puri and Mr. Alphons are not members of Parliament and are expected to find entry via the the Rajya Sabha.
The aim of the reshuffle and the choice of this mix of former bureaucrats, diplomats and career politicians is to “reinforce the team with 4 Ps — passion, proficiency, and professional and political acumen.”
Modi to induct former bureaucrats
While Mr. Puri will be depended upon for bolstering foreign policy issues, Mr. Raj Kumar Singh, Mr. Alphons and Mr. Satyapal Singh have been chosen for their long experience in dealing with governmental systems. Mr. Alphons, while commissioner of the DDA was known for his crackdown on illegal construction and had earned the sobriquet of “Demolition Man of DDA”.
“The new ministers are going to be placed strategically in key Ministries, especially focussing on last-mile delivery directly to the people,” a senior governmental source said. “This is in continuance with Prime Minister Modi’s track record of identifying his fellow team members on the merit of their past performance, and future potential. They have been selected with a clear mandate to deliver on his vision of New India that is built on the foundations of development and good governance,” a source said.
The list also gives an important clue into Prime Minister Modi’s plans for 2019, which hinges on delivery of development projects. It also reflects the BJP’s political ambitions in Kerala, with the inclusion of Mr. Alphons (where the BJP does not have a single MP), in the choice of Mr. Hegde from Karnataka where polls are due in early 2018, and Mr. Shekhawat and Virendra Kumar from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, respectively, where again polls are due in late 2018.
Sources are quick to add that the Ministers-designate have political and professional experience with Mr, Virendra Kumar having a Ph.D., Mr Shukla a law degree and Mr. Shekhawat, a popular politician on Quora, having an M.Phil. and MA degree in philosophy to their names. This emphasis on professional qualification rather than political dividends is significant.
Politically, the messaging is not of huge proportions, with Mr. Shukla’s inclusion seen as a replacement for Mr. Kalraj Mishra, former Union Minister for Medium and Small Scale Industries, a Brahmin face from U.P. The overwhelming message of the reshuffle is Prime Minister Modi’s preoccupation with delivery systems within the government.
Allies not in list
Noteworthy on the list is the absence of names from NDA allies —the Janata Dal (U), and an old ally, the Shiv Sena. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made it clear in Patna that he had received no communication from Mr. Modi on any inclusions from his party.
“We’ve no information of this … neither any talk about it … I came to know only through media,” Mr. Kumar said in Patna. Asked what he would do if such a proposal was made, Mr. Kumar said: “Then we’ll decide what to do.”
The new likely members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministerial council are:
Shiv Pratap Shukla, a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh who is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey, the MP from Buxar, Bihar, who has previously served the Bihar cabinet for eight years.
Virendra Kumar, the Tikamgah (Madhya Pradesh) MP. Mr. Kumar holds doctorate in Child Labour and has been elected to the Lok Sabha six times.
Anant Kumar Hegde, the Uttara Kannada MP has been a member of multiple Parliamentary Standing Committees including the likes of Finance, Home Affairs, Human Resource Development, Commerce, Agriculture and External Affairs.
Raj Kumar Singh, the MP from Arrah (Bihar) is a former IAS office who went on to become the Union Home Secretary. He is known for his contributions to schemes for police modernisation, prison modernisation, and laying down a framework for disaster management.
Hardeep Singh Puri, a former IFS officer, he is the President and Chairman of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) think tank, and was the Vice President of International Peace Institute, New York.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Jodhpur MP is a quite popular name in the social sphere, especially in the Q&A blogging site Quora. A farmer by profession, Mr. Shekhawat is also a basketball player.
Alphons Kannanthanam, a former IAS officer is best known for his stint as Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority, when he cleared encroachment in the national capital by removing around 15,000 illegal buildings.
Satya Pal Singh, the Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh) MP, he was the former Commissioner of Police of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. He holds a PhD in Naxalism and is a published author.
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