Who146;s in charge?

If you had any doubts over just how open to blackmail the NDA coalition is, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray has proved it beyond doubt. Not ...

If you had any doubts over just how open to blackmail the NDA coalition is, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray has proved it beyond doubt. Not only has he got one of the more pro-reforms ministers in the Vajpayee8217;s cabinet to resign, he has even decided who his successor is to be.

The Shiv Sena nominee, Anant Geethe, a minister of state in the finance ministry, is to be upgraded to Cabinet rank, and replace Suresh Prabhu. And since there is obviously a quota of ministries reserved for each ally, another Shiv Sena candidate is to be nominated by Thackeray for Geethe8217;s finance ministry job. That the top contender for this job, at least from all indications so far, is the younger brother of the Videocon group chief makes it even more unacceptable as there is a serious conflict of interest here.

Videocon borrows money from banks and financial institutions, so surely a close family member cannot be allowed to lord it over these very banks and financial institutions?

The one signal that emerges from these developments is that Prime Minister Vajpayee clearly has no say in the selection of his cabinet colleagues 8212; a signal that has extremely disturbing implications for the citizens of this country.

What makes the situation even more untenable are the reasons for Thackeray8217;s displeasure over Prabhu8217;s ministerial performance. While the world is still largely clueless about why he chose to react to Prabhu in the way he did, there are suggestions that Prabhu was not exactly helpful when it came to asking industrialists for favours.

In the case of the other Shiv Sena minister, Manohar Joshi, it is well known by now that Thackeray had him removed from the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises because he was unable to ensure auto giant Maruti Udyog got sold off to a particular industrial house. Poor Joshi was so terrified of Thackeray, he even took the Maruti-sale file to Mumbai and left it there, in the hope that this would delay the Susuki deal.

Indeed, in interviews with the media, Thackeray had dropped enough hints as to the real reasons for his displeasure with his party8217;s ministers in the Vajpayee government.

Story continues below this ad

This newspaper has already highlighted the rampant corruption in the government8217;s allotment of both petrol pumps and prime land in Delhi to a favoured few. News that cabinet ministers are now to be removed for their inability to get the corporate world to render favours, only contributes in creating an unsavoury image of the NDA government and its principal political party, the BJP. Certainly, the party with a difference isn8217;t looking that great right just now.