 "Modi 3.0: Why BJP has retained the big 4 ministries, defence, external affairs, home and finance")
The Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet made some big decisions in its first meeting on Monday (10 June). After the huddle concluded, the wait for the portfolio allocation in the third NDA government was finally over as the Centre announced the ministries.
Modi and his 71 Council of Ministers were administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday (9 June) evening at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. There are 30 Cabinet ministers, five Ministers of State (Independent), and 36 MoS in Modi 3.0.
Senior BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, who were part of the key Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), have been retained in the new government led by Modi. However, which ministries have they been allotted? What about others? Has the BJP kept the key ministries forming the CCS?
Let’s take a closer look.
The Big Four
Rajnath Singh, BJP MP from Lucknow, will continue as India’as defence minister, a charge he was given in Modi 2.0.
BJP’s Gandhinagar MP Amit Shah will return as Union home minister for a second consecutive term.
Rajya Sabha MP Nirmala Sitharaman, who is among the only two women inducted into the Union Cabinet, will keep the finance ministry. She became the first full-time finance minister in 2019 when she was allocated the plum portfolio after the BJP’s landslide victory in Lok Sabha polls.
S Jaishankar, a Rajya Sabha MP, has been retained in his job as External Affairs Minister (EAM). This will be his second stint as a Union minister.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPortfolio for PM Modi-led Union Cabinet announced
— ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2024
Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dr S Jaishankar Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw retain their ministries. pic.twitter.com/LkZ0MQiTnk
Other ministers in Modi 3.0
Senior BJP leader and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari has retained the Ministry for Road Transport & Highways. East Delhi MP Harsh Malhotra and Almora MP Ajay Tamta, both from the BJP, will be Ministers of State (MoS) for the department.
BJP president JP Nadda has got health ministry, a charge he first held during the Modi government in 2014.
Shah will remain the Cooperation minister.
Piyush Goyal will keep the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
Rajya Sabha MP Ashwini Vaishnaw will continue as the Railways minister, a much sought-after department by Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). He has also been given the Information and Broadcasting portfolio in the new NDA government, along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh has to contend with the Panchayati Raj ministry. He is also the Union minster for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be the new Agriculture Minister. He will also be responsible for the Rural Development portfolio.
Former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal (ML) Khattar has been allotted Power and Housing and Affairs ministries. BJP’s Shripad Yesso Naik will be MoS Power and Bilaspur MP Tokhan Sahu has been made MoS Housing and Urban Affairs.
Dharmendra Pradhan has returned as Education minister, while senior BJP leader CR Patil has got Jal Shakti ministry. Another party leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is the new Tourism minister. He will also hold the Culture department.
There has been a rejig in the Civil Aviation Ministry. The plum portfolio has gone to NDA’s second-largest constituent in terms of Lok Sabha seats – the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). TDP MP Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu has replaced the BJP’s Jyotiraditya Scindia, as the new civil aviation minister. The saffron party leader has been shifted to the Telecommunication ministry and will hold the additional charge as the Minister of Development of North Eastern Region.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, whose party won all five Lok Sabha seats it contested in Bihar, will head the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Kiren Rijiju is the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Minister of Minority Affairs.
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, who was the health minister in Modi 2.0, is the new Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has been retained by BJP’s Sarbananda Sonowal. Hardeep Singh Puri is the minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy has been given the Ministry of Steel, along with Heavy Industries portfolio.
Read here: Full list of portfolio allocation
Why is the CCS so crucial?
It is no surprise that the BJP has kept the four top ministries that constitute the CCS.
With the Prime Minister at the helm, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) comprising of the ministers for Finance, Defence, Home Affairs and External Affairs, is a highly important panel.
As per an Onmanorama article, the CCS is India’s highest decision-making body on security affairs. It deals with issues related to defence, law and order, and internal security.
The panel debates and makes decisions on appointments in national security bodies. It also takes a call on the country’s defence expenditure.
The CCS is responsible for policy matters related to foreign affairs affecting internal or external security, including pacts with other countries on security-related issues. It also concerns itself with matters of atomic energy.
Given the panel’s immense importance, it was widely expected the BJP would resist pressures from its NDA partners and would not part away from these four crucial portfolios that make up the CCS.
As per Indian Express, the leader of the government usually assigns their most trusted party members and allies to take charge of these ministries. While coalition governments in the past have seen members of CCS from different parties, Modi has refused to do so. It was unlikely he was going to allot these ministries to anyone outside the party.
STORY | Modi govt 3.0 holds first Cabinet meeting
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 10, 2024
READ: https://t.co/ccio7LQ82m
VIDEO: pic.twitter.com/LU4ArC8oW3
By not only retaining the Defence, External Affairs, Home Affairs and Finance portfolios but also giving these ministries to the BJP leaders who respectively held these posts in Modi 2.0, the saffron party is perhaps trying to project stability in the new NDA government.
The BJP, which managed to secure a majority on its own in the last two general elections, was denied the magic number of 272, forcing it to run a coalition government.
This move may be a signal that though the BJP is reliant on its NDA partners to remain in power, the party is in no mood to make compromises when it comes to the security of India.
The BJP has eliminated the possible wrangling and disputes among NDA members regarding policies on foreign affairs, internal security, economic issues and defence by keeping these plum posts for itself.
It is not always easy to run a coalition government but the BJP has sent a message that it remains in power and it is they who are in charge of the third NDA government.
With inputs from agencies
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