The fact that the BJP is running a government without a majority on its own was reflected in the newly constituted Cabinet committees on Wednesday as well as the time taken in naming their members. The BJP’s allies in the NDA have got the highest representation in the panels since 2014. The members of the committees have been announced over three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the council of ministers took oath on June 9.
One panel that will remain unchanged is the all-important Cabinet Committee on Security, which takes decisions on all national security related matters, including defence expenditure and senior appointments in the security apparatus. Headed by the Prime Minister, the committee also consists of the Ministers for Defence, Home Affairs, Finance and External Affairs and not only will the composition remain unchanged but also the people, with all the Modi 2.0 ministers in the committee retaining their portfolios.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which deals with economic and political issues as well as Centre-state relations and is also known as the ‘Super Cabinet’, has now got the Telegu Desam Party’s K Rammohan Naidu and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) Chief Jitan Ram Manjhi as members.
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Who is Who?
Mr Manjhi is the minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) while Mr Naidu is the Civil Aviation minister. Lalan Singh from the Janata Dal United is in the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs while another key Bihar ally, Chirag Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas), has found a place in the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth. Lalan Singh aka Rajiv Ranjan Singh holds the Panchayati Raj and Animal Husbandry portfolios and Mr Paswan is the minister for Food Processing Industries.
Jayant Chaudhary, leader of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, which was a key INDIA ally earlier, is a special invitee in the Cabinet Committee on Skill, Employment and Livelihood. Mr Chaudhary is the Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in every cabinet committee except those on Appointments and Accommodation, which is a sign of his stature in the Modi government.
Among new entrants, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is now the Union Agriculture minister, is on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Annpurna Devi, the minister for Women and Child Development, who is seen as the most important woman member of the cabinet after Nirmala Sitharaman, is a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.
In terms of numbers, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU are the most important allies of the BJP because they have 16 and 12 MPs respectively and are critical in taking the NDA past the majority mark. Sources said it is interesting that leaders of these two allies are not on any of the committees together.
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