New Delhi: Confusion prevailed all through Thursday over defence minister Rajnath Singh’s inclusion in the crucial Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA). It was earlier being reported that Mr Singh was left out of the CCPA, but late Thursday night an official release clarified that the defence minister was included in all key Cabinet committees.
Sources close to the defence minister also strongly denied television stories that Mr Singh was included in the CCPA only after he had threatened to resign. “Rajnathji does not indulge in such practices. He has always been dignified in his entire political career,” a source close to the defence minister said. Other sources close to the minister also strongly refuted TV reports that Mr Singh was “accommodated” in the CCPA, among other committees, only after the intervention of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Official sources said Mr Rajnath Singh will also now chair the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, of which Mr Modi is not a member, while Mr Shah is.
The Narendra Modi government has reconstituted six Cabinet committees and formed two new ones on jobs and investment, with Union home minister Amit Shah included in all of them. The committees reconstituted included the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Security and the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. The two new ones are the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth and Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development.
Earlier, there were reports that the defence minister’ name was missing from the CCPA and the Employment and Skill Development and Investment and Growth panels. However, the official released made it clear that the defence minister’s name figured in six committees, barring the Appointments Committee and the Committee on Accommodation. Home minister Amit Shah is, however, included in all eight committees.
There was speculation that Mr Shah’s inclusion in all the eight committees was a clear signal that he was number two in the Cabinet after Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The committees were reconstituted to reflect the changes in the investment, growth, employment and skill development climate, amid rising concerns over an economic slowdown.
Mr Shah earlier chaired an informal meeting of several Cabinet ministers, including external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, commerce and railway minister Piyush Goyal and petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, besides Ms Sitharaman, on June 4 on crude oil-related issues. Political sources noted the government has been careful to maintain almost the same weightage of portfolios in the six committees. Cabinet ministers representing the BJP’s allies, including Ram Vilas Paswan, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Arvind Sawant, are members of a few committees.
