Of new mantris & old babus

Much has been said and written about the appointment of former bureaucrats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new-look council of ministers. While two of the new appointees are first time Lok Sabha members, the other two — Hardeep Puri and K.J. Alphons — are not members of either House of Parliament. According to rules, they have to become members within six months. Initially, there was some chatter that the two new ministers would find it difficult to get elected as the next round of Rajya Sabha polls, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party will make big gains, are not due till next April. But it now transpires they will have no problem in entering the Upper House. Vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu’s seat in Rajasthan fell vacant when he resigned from the Cabinet after he took over his new assignment. Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh is also up for grabs. It is said Mr Alphons could replace Mr Parrikar while Mr Puri will enter Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. Last time, a Sikh — former Akali Dal leader Balwant Singh Ramoowalia — was transported to Uttar Pradesh was in 2015 when he was appointed minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government. It would appear that Mr Puri is set be Modi’s Ramoowalia.

With foreign secretary S. Jaishankar’s extended term coming to an end this yearend, the capital’s hyperactive grapevine is busy speculating if he will continue in this post or whether the Modi government will name his successor. Since Mr Jaishankar was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is apparently unwilling to let him go, there is talk that he may get a fresh extension. This is obviously not welcome news for the foreign service officers as many contenders would then be out of the running for the coveted post. On the other hand, it is also being said that Mr Jaishankar could be retained but not in the same post. He may instead be moved to the Prime Minister’s Office as adviser, foreign affairs. This is also not good news for the ministry officials as Mr Jaishankar would continue to call the shots. It would also signal that the powers of another Modi favorite, national security adviser Ajit Doval have been curtailed. If at all, Mr Modi does pick a new foreign secretary, Indian envoy to China, Vijay Gokhale, is said to be a frontrunner for this job. Mr Gokhale has impressed the Prime Minister with his skilful handling of the Doklam crisis. However, Mr Gokhale will not move back till after October though he has been promoted as economic relations secretary in the foreign ministry headquarters. He has been asked to stay on because the next Congress of the Chinese Communist Party being held in October is said to be politically crucial.

Though he was all-time favourite of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, BJP leader Vijay Goel had to wait two years before he was appointed minister in the Modi government. It was only last year that he was named minister for sports and youth affairs with independent charge to compensate for his removal as Delhi BJP chief. However, Mr Goel’s tenure was cut short as he was shifted to the low-key parliamentary affairs ministry as a junior minister where he will have to work under his senior Ananth Kumar. Mr Goel apparently fell from grace after the media reported how the Delhi Development Authority was prevailed upon to change its layout plans to allot a plot of land to an NGO run by the minister’s daughter. Mr Goel’s detractors, including Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, also worked hard to discredit him.

Blaming him for the party’s loss in the recent Bawana bypoll, they accused Mr Goel of sabotaging the election. On his part, Mr Goel made strenuous efforts to get a plum posting. He even organised a special programme in the memory of his father Charti Lal Goel, the first Speaker of the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, on the eve of the Cabinet reshuffle which was attended by finance minister Arun Jaitley. In the end, Mr Goel’s efforts went in vain.

Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum are chafing over the delay in deciding their salary hikes. The joint parliamentary committee on salaries and allowances of MPs has not met for nearly six months.

It was headed by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in his capacity as a Lok Sabha MP but the panel could not convene a meeting since he shifted from Delhi to head the government in his home state. Yogi Adityanath obviously could not chair a parliamentary committee after his appointment as chief minister. It is expected that a new panel chief will be announced soon as several parliamentary committees are to be reconstituted shortly. Parliamentarians are hoping that the committee is recast soon to enable it to submit its report in the Winter Session.