Opinion January 30, 1982, Forty Years Ago: New Union cabinet

Indira Gandhi dropped only one Cabinet colleague, Kedar Pande, and seven junior ministers and included two former chief ministers in her Cabinet.

Viswanath Pratap Singh, who resigned as Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister after his failure to curb the dacoit menace has been named Commerce Minister with Cabinet rank.

By: Editorial

January 30, 2023 06:00 AM IST First published on: Jan 30, 2023 at 06:00 AM IST

Indira Gandhi left the face of her government practically unchanged in a feeble dent-beating exercise. She dropped only one Cabinet colleague, Kedar Pande, and seven junior ministers and included two former chief ministers in her Cabinet. K Vijayabhaskara Reddy, Lok Sabha member, who was chief minister of Andhra Pradesh till the Congress (I) rout in the elections, has been inducted as a Cabinet minister without portfolio. Viswanath Pratap Singh, who resigned as Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister after his failure to curb the dacoit menace has been named Commerce Minister with Cabinet rank.

Resignations

C P N Singh, Minister of State for Non-conventional Energy, has resigned from the Cabinet. His resignation has been forwarded by Indira Gandhi to the President for acceptance. It is likely that two or three other ministers who are not in the capital will also submit their resignations in the next one or two days. The news of the resignation of Singh came late, almost eight hours after Gandhi had recast her cabinet team.

Emergency rules

With the President giving assent to the Assam Executive Magistrate’s (temporary powers) Act, the state government added one more to the list of emergency powers for the forthcoming elections. The new act gives unprecedented judicial powers to the executive magistrates. Under the act the executive magistrates, “to the exclusion of all other magistrates” have the powers to “take cognisance, try and dispose of cases relating to offences under the Indian Penal Code or any other law providing for jail for six months, fine or both.”

Piloo Mody dead

Piloo Mody parliamentarian who not only laughed at his rotund self but punctured others with his darts of wit died in his sleep. He was 57. Mody is survived by his American-born wife Vina and his two brothers.