Cabinet reshuffle as it happened: Modi's picks balance caste equations in UP, Rajasthan ahead of Assembly polls

Virendra Kumar’s elevation brings caste balance in Bundelkhand ahead of 2018 Assembly polls

Why was Virendra chosen over others?

BJP’s top leadership chose Virendra to ensure a caste and regional balance in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, ahead of the Assembly polls in the state next year.

Kumar as a representative from the region became an obvious choice especially after Union minister Uma Bharti, a BJP stalwart from Bundelkhand and a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh who once dominated the region, moved out of the state and got elected as an MP from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh in 2014.

Yogi Adityanath greets new council of ministers

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday congratulated the new Union Cabinet ministers and ministers of state who took oath.

A state government spokesperson said that the chief minister exuded confidence that with the new faces in the Union Council of Ministers under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the speed of country’s development would be enhanced.

He also said that the state government would extend all cooperation to implement various central schemes in the state. —PTI

Najma Heptulla congratulates Nirmala Sitharam on becoming Defence Minister

Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla congratulated Nirmala Sitharaman on becoming the new defence minister of the country. She also expressed happiness that a woman has been given such an important post as that of defence Minister.

The Governor also extended her good wishes to the nine ministers who were inducted into the Union ministry and others who were promoted during today’s cabinet reshuffle. 58-year old Nirmala Sitharaman became the first woman to become a full-time Defence Minister of the country.

No new member from allies, Cabinet reshuffle an all-BJP affair

The third reshuffle in the Modi Cabinet turned out to be an all-BJP affair as its allies were not a part of the exercise. It was expected that its new partner, the JD(U), would get representation in the central government, but it turned otherwise.

JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said his party was not invited to join the government. The Shiv Sena too was unhappy with its non-inclusion in the Cabinet, stating that the NDA was “almost dead” and that BJP remembered it only when it needed some support.

Sources in the BJP said that members of their alliance might join the government later as there was still a scope for expansion of the Union Council of Ministers. They, however, added that a decision on the allies joining the government would be taken later.  —PTI

From economics to defence**, Nirmala Sitharaman rose quickly in BJP**

Nirmala Sitharaman became the first woman to be a full-time defence minister in India on Sunday. Her journey in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started as a spokesperson and grew in rank soon with her speaking style and debating skills.

On Sunday, Sitharaman became India’s second woman defence minister and the first woman to be made in-charge of this key ministry full time. “Somebody who has come from a small town, grown into the party with all the support of the leadership, and if given such responsibility, it just makes you feel sometimes that cosmic grace is there. Otherwise, it is impossible,” Sitharaman told reporters here after taking oath as a Union Minister.

Narendra Modi Cabinet rejig to balance caste equations in Rajasthan, say BJP leaders 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday turned the spotlight on BJP’s efforts at balancing caste equations in Rajasthan, party leaders in Jaipur said.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore replaced Vijay Goel in the Sports Ministry, while also remaining the MoS in the I&B Ministry. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been inducted as MoS in agriculture. This highlights the importance of Rajput vote for the BJP, they said.

Both the parliamentarians were given roles in the rejig as the party had received negative publicity in the Rajput community after gangster Anandpal Singh was killed in police encounter, a BJP insider said.

Rathore (47) and Shekhawat (49) are Rajputs, and the moves are being seen as efforts by the party to keep the community in its fold for the upcoming state assembly elections as well as the general elections scheduled in 2019.

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Moreover, both the MPs are highly educated, comparatively younger and have been considered for significant assignments in keeping with their tech-savvy nature and popularity among youngsters, he added. —PTI

Ministry will attain its objectives to electrify villages on time, says RK Singh

Newly inducted Power, New and Renewable Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh on Sunday said his Ministry will attain its objectives on time and said he was certain to come up to the expectations of his leader.

“We have objectives. The Ministry will attain its objectives on time. We have to electrify (the unelectrified villages) within a set time frame,” Singh said hours after taking oath of office and secrecy as Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. 

Asked if he was expecting a ministerial berth in the reshuffle, the former Union Home Secretary said, “Whether I was expecting to become a Minister? No. Whether I was expecting this portfolio? No. Both came as surprises.” —IANS

P Chidambaram slams retention of agriculture, health ministers

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday attacked the retention of Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Health Minister JP Nadda in the Union Cabinet, saying both the areas are in “distress and crisis”.

“Agriculture in distress, Health in crisis, but ministers remain,” said Chidambaram on Twitter. “Amidst all the trumped up excitement, will someone please note 13 more children died yesterday in Gorakhpur?” he said in another tweet.

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Nitin Gadkari given additional charge of water resources ministry to expedite Clean Ganga Mission

Faced with the herculean task of fulfilling the BJP-led government’s promise of cleaning the Ganga, the Centre needed nothing short of a silver bullet to meet the deadline for the project, which some allege, is being implemented at a snail’s pace.

This sluggish implementation is the ostensible reason behind transport minister Nitin Gadkari, considered one of the top-performing ministers, getting the additional charge of water resources ministry, sources say.

Four Ministers of State upgraded to cabinet rank in reshuffle 

The BJP-led government on Sunday promoted four ministers, largely seen as performers, to the cabinet, which also got a Muslim face with the induction of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

The elevation of Dharmendra Pradhan and Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajya Sabha MPs from Odisha and Karnataka, is also reflective of the BJP’s political calculation in these poll-bound states.

Sitharaman’s stunning elevation from commerce ministry to Defence grabbed the lion’s share of attraction in the latest round of reshuffle.

The second big gainer Piyush Goyal, entrusted with the Railways portfolio, is widely credited with astutely steering the Centre’s rural electrification agenda and turning around the coal sector as a Minister of State with independent charge for power, coal, new and renewable energy and mines.

Pradhan and Naqvi retained their portfolios of Oil and Gas and Minority Affairs respectively.

Sixty-year-old Naqvi, a Shia from Uttar Pradesh, is the lone Muslim face in the council of ministers of the Modi government. He has been handling the twin portfolios of Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs. —PTI

Dharmendra Pradhan reacts on being inducted as the new skill development minister 

Petroleum minister and newly inducted skill development minister Dharmendra Pradhan spoke to News18 and said that he has been in the cabinet since the past three and a half years and this is a big responsibility bestowed on him. When asked about his vision for Skill India, he said, “Let me clarify, there is no question of not achieving the target. Narendra Modi has great vision of filling the gap in the job market, skill ministry is doing a great job. He added that he will continue doing the “good work” that his predecessor Rudy had undertaken,

Defence Minister may speed up case for women in combat, says Subhash Bhamre 

Union Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre on Sunday said he hoped Nirmala Sitharaman’s appointment as the new defence minister will speed up the process of induction of women in combat roles in the armed forces.

“This is a big incident; she is the first full-time woman Defence Minister (of India),” Bhamre said after meeting Sitharaman at her residence in New Delhi soon after she was named as the country’s defence minister.

“She is known as one of the efficient ministers… the ministry is already examining the case of women in the armed forces. Now that a woman is the Defence Minister, I think the process will be faster,” he told News18. —IANS

RSS hails Nirmala Sitharaman’s elevation as defence minister

The RSS on Sunday hailed the elevation of Nirmala Sitharaman as the defence minister, saying it was a “great and remarkable” thing that a woman has been appointed to such a crucial post.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya congratulated all those who were inducted or elevated in the Cabinet after the reshuffle.

“It is a great and remarkable thing that a woman has been appointed as the defence minister and now there will be two female ministers in the cabinet committee on security,” Vaidya said. Sitharaman is the first woman to become a full-time Defence Minister of the country in a major rejig of the Modi Cabinet. —PTI

Alphons Kannanthanam is part of Narendra Modi’s 2019 plan, but BJP’s Kerala unit feels otherwise

The induction of bureaucrat-turned politician Alphons Kannanthanam into the Union cabinet has come as a big surprise to the state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

It had expected either state president Kummanam Rajashekharan or Suresh Gopi, party’s lone Rajya Sabha member, to be in the ministry when they made a strong bid for representation to the southern state in the Narendra Modi government.

But party’s master strategist Amit Shah had other plans in his mind when he pitched for Alphons, who is currently a member of the BJP’s national executive committee, for the ministerial berth. Shaw saw in him a potential candidate who could win a seat for the party from Kerala in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Hardeep Singh Puri to get briefing on Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Monday 

Uttar Pradesh has the largest share of ministers in newly reshuffled cabinet

Despite losing one berth in the Union Council of Ministers following Sunday’s reshuffle, Uttar Pradesh has the largest share of ministers in the Modi government.

While three ministers from UP — Kalraj Mishra, Mahendra Nath Pandey and Sanjeev Balyan — had resigned ahead of the reshuffle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted Satyapal Singh and Shiv Pratap Shukla in his ministry.

Uttar Pradesh has 12 ministers in the government, including Modi. The total number of ministers now stands at 76 including the Prime Minister with 27 having cabinet rank, 11 ministers of state with independent charge and 37 ministers of state. There are 57 ministers from the Lok Sabha and 18 from the Rajya Sabha.

Prime minister’s ability to spring big surprises ‘undiminished,’ says Omar Abdullah 

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah while reacting to the Union Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ability to spring big surprises is “undiminished and unchallenged” even after over three years in power.

He was reacting to a tweet that said that no journalist had any clue about what the prime minister and BJP president Amit Shah were planning on the reshuffle that took place this morning.

“The Council of Ministers may not be gender balanced but the High Table most certainly is. Well done @narendramodi ji,” he said in a series of tweets . —PTI

Nirmala Sitharaman meets Rajnath Singh 

Defence Minister designate Nirmala Sitharaman calls on Home Minister Rajnath Singh after being sworn in as the union cabinet minister. She will take charge of the ministry after Arun Jaitley concludes his security dialogue in Japan 

Arun Jaitley dismisses Congress’ allegations that Narendra Modi does not trust his political colleagues

The allocation of portfolios was done after a close monitoring of the performance of each ministry and its ministers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday.

“The prime minister has set the bar very high. It is obviously clear that he is very closely monitoring the performance of each ministry and each individual and therefore decided who is to be given what responsibility,” he told reporters.

Describing as “extremely significant” the induction of BJP leaders with proven administrative abilities in the new team,  Jaitley said they are not new entrants into politics and some of them had joined the BJP after retirement. “I think the prime minister has done quite well in recognising their ability and talent in governance and making them in charge of important departments,” he said.

To Congress’ allegation that Modi did not trust his political colleagues and inducted four former bureaucrats, Jaitley said, “How can UPA say this? Their own prime minister (Manmohan Singh) had come from the same background”.  —PTI

Cartoon by Manjul 

Sudarshan Bhagat appointed MoS Tribal Affairs

Sudarshan Bhagat, who was holding the charge of Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, was on Sunday shifted to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as a junior minister.

​​With his induction, there are now two junior ministers of Tribal Affairs. The other minister is Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, a sitting MP of the BJP from Dahod in Gujarat.  —PTI

Nirmala Sitharaman is new defence minister: PMO writ likely to remain large in her ministry

Her surprise nomination to the post of defence minister means two things — that she has acquired the supreme confidence of the prime minister and her integrity factor which was considered the most critical thing for occupying this post in the Modi regime is beyond doubt in eyes of her two political bosses. At another level, her big bang promotion means that the writ of the Prime Minister’s Office would run large in the defence ministry.

Manish Tewari calls nine new ministers inducted in cabinet a ‘senior citizens’ club’

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari described the nine new ministers as a “senior citizens’ club”, pointing out that while the median age of a person in the country was 27 years, the average age of the new entrants was 60.44 years.

Talking to the media, Tewari claimed Modi was “strangely disconnected” from the Cabinet reshuffle exercise. “It seems that (BJP president) Amit Shah is the prime minister,” he said, referring to reports that claimed Shah summoned ministers and asked them to resign before the rejig.

He also termed the expansion “maximum government and minimum governance”. ​"This reflects that the prime minister does not trust his political colleagues," Tewari added.  —PTI

JD(U) not even invited to join NDA government, claims Lalu Prasad Yadav

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad claimed that Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) was not even invited to join the NDA government by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP chief Amit Shah in the Cabinet reshuffle.

Four junior ministers were elevated to the Cabinet rank and nine new faces inducted as Ministers of State, in a rejig by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Some JD(U) leaders had got new Kurta Pyjama and Bundi stitched for the swearing-in ceremony, but the elusive invitation did not come,” he alleged.

“Why should Prime Minister Modi or BJP president Shah consult Kumar when they know about his character?” the RJD supremo said in a dig at the JD(U) chief, who had dumped the Grand Alliance in July to form a government in Bihar with the BJP.

Ashwini Kumar Choubey takes oath as MoS for Health and Family Welfare

Prominent Brahmin face from Bihar, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, was appointed the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in Sunday’s cabinet reshuffle.

According to health ministry officials, he will be entrusted with the responsibilities which his predecessor Faggan Singh Kulaste dealt with during his tenure.

Cabinet expansion to divert attention from government’s ‘failure,’ says Mayawati

The expansion of the Narendra Modi cabinet at the Centre is an attempt to divert the attention of the people from the government’s “failure” in tackling burning issues the country is facing, BSP chief Mayawati said on Sunday.

The expansion is an attempt to divert the attention of the people from the “failure of the government on burning problems like poverty, unemployment, Ganga cleaning” as well as promises made by the BJP during the Lok Sabha polls, Mayawati said.

“This is new drama being enacted by the BJP. The people have lost hope and are angry with the government. In place of politicians, retired bureaucrats are being relied on more in the expansion and an attempt is being made to propagate the agenda of RSS,” she said in a statement. The expansion reflects the tensions in the BJP and in the NDA, she added.

Narendra Modi’s bet on Nirmala Sitharaman sounds risky, but could be key to defence modernisation

The most startling aspect of the Narendra Modi Cabinet reshuffle is that a minister who has just been promoted to Cabinet rank has been given the defence portfolio. It normally goes to one of the most senior politicians in the government, but the new defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is listed just above the minister for minority affairs at the bottom of the list of Cabinet ministers.

It is a risky gambit. For, the need to gird up the defence preparedness has been widely felt in the wake of China’s belligerence over the Doka La stand-off, which ended amid tremendous tension just about three days before the reshuffle. Metaphorically speaking, the defence minister will need to move mountains.

Devendra Fadnavis congratulates Council of Ministers 

Suresh Prabhu congratulates Piyush Goyal on becoming new railway minister

Piyush Goyal was Sunday made the new railway minister, after a spate of train accidents derailed Suresh Prabhu’s run.

Prabhu, a chartered accountant by profession, retained his cabinet rank in the reshuffle and will take over as the new commerce and industry minister.

Goyal, who was the Minister of State with independent charge for power, coal, new and renewable energy, was elevated to the cabinet rank in Sunday’s reshuffle.

KJ Alphons’ appointment has left other Kerala BJP leaders out in the cold

One reason why Modi and BJP president Amit Shah may have opted for Alphons is to warn the warring BJP leadership in Kerala that they needed to get their act together to take on the entrenched Left and the Congress.

There are some who think that Alphons has been made a minister to appease the numerically strong Christian community in Kerala.

Scarcity of talented legislators in BJP lays bare after Kannanthanam, Puri become ministers

Induction of four retired bureaucrats, two of them not even MPs, among nine new ministers who took the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan with stress on “performance” and “last mile delivery” speaks volume about the lack of talent pool in the party.

In other words Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expression of high confidence in the abilities of Raj Kumar Singh, Alphons Kannanthanam (both IAS), Hardeep Singh Puri (IFS) and Satya Pal Singh (IPS) is also in some ways the prime minister’s expression of low confidence in the regular bench strength comprising of entry level cadre of politicians. This has caused certain unease among a section of party leaders.

RSS member Anantkumar Hegde faces charges for linking Islam to terrorism

A hardcore RSS member and a controversial politician Anantkumar Hegde has emerged as a dark horse to find a ministerial slot.

A five-time Member of Parliament from Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, having entered the Parliament at the age of 28, he is currently the member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and Human Resources.

Hegde in March last year had sparked a controversy over his reported remarks allegedly linking Islam to terrorism, and is facing a case under IPC in this regard.

Cabinet reshuffle: Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and others sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Click here to see photos

MoS Health & Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey reacts to appointment to cabinet

Nirmala Sitharaman is defence minister: Elevation shows Narendra Modi believes in women leading from front

By all means, this was a double promotion for Sitharaman, who until Saturday held the independent charge of the commerce and industry ministry. She was first elevated to Cabinet rank and subsequently inducted into the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) by virtue of her appointment as the Union defence minister.

Sitharaman is technically the second women to hold the defence portfolio, but for former prime minister Indira Gandhi, defence was an additional charge. Sitharaman is India’s first full-time woman defence minister, And the sound of the glass ceiling being shattered would reverberate for a long time to come. Nothing carries the message of women’s empowerment more than battle-hardened generals doffing their hats to a female boss. As far as symbolisms go, it is a powerful one.

Newly appointed Power Minister RK Singh reacts after taking oath 

Santosh Gangwar on being appointed as the new Labour and Employment Minister

Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore appointed India’s new sports minister

Athens Olympic silver medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was on Sunday appointed the new sports minister in place of Vijay Goel, who has been made the minister of state for parliamentary affairs.

The 47-year-old Rathore was till now serving as minister of state for information and broadcasting.

Rathore takes over from the pro-active Goel following a major cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Cartoon by Manjul