The BJP146;s footprint

Consider the Vajpayee government today. A BJP prime minister, a BJP deputy prime minister in charge of home, a BJP minister of finance, exte...

Consider the Vajpayee government today. A BJP prime minister, a BJP deputy prime minister in charge of home, a BJP minister of finance, external affairs, HRD, information and broadcasting, health, commerce and industries, petroleum, rural development, civil aviation, surface transport, law. Now add agriculture. And they still call this a National Democratic Alliance government? At least the BJP8217;s ideologues must now stop using the NDA fig leaf to fend off criticism that in government they have either deviated from the party8217;s so-called 8216;8216;core8217;8217; agenda or that they still cannot function as a cohesive team. Why blame the increasingly dispensable allies for this when BJP President Venkaiah Naidu himself routinely attacks the policy initiatives of his party8217;s government?

The PM was unhappy with Ajit Singh, former agriculture minister, because he complained too much and was often obstructionist. By that token, many in his party must be shown the door for routinely blocking important policy decisions. The latest reshuffle is unlikely to make the government more cohesive, dynamic or impart it with a new commitment to economic reform. Both Rajnath Singh in agriculture and Rajiv Pratap Rudy have to earn their spurs as reformers. Shahnawaz Hussain deserved punishment for his record at civil aviation and yet got textiles. It will be a pity if textiles comes to be viewed as a punishment posting for there is more to be done here, with the global textile market changing fast, than the entirely redundant civil aviation ministry. After living through so many cabinet reshuffles, it8217;s time to understand what they have come to mean. Has there been an improvement in the quality of the team? Has there been a power shift or policy shift? Has there been improved representation for all regions, communities and castes? Interestingly, no categorical answer is possible. There has, undoubtedly, been an improvement in the quality of leadership in some ministries and leaving ministers like Arun Shourie and Arun Jaitley untouched was good.

The promotion of B C Khanduri will also be welcomed since he has soldiered on bravely in the face of many hurdles. Hopefully, he will now get on with the new deadline for the national highway project. Other changes have been either cosmetic or purely political. The most glaring imbalance in this government, apart from the excessive dominance of the BJP, is its regional composition. All key ministries are handled by politicians from the Hindi heartland. But that8217;s understandable. This is a BJP government, after all, not really an NDA government.