At a time when the government realises the need to hasten the reforms process, at a time when senior ministers are talking of pushing through important reforms, you?d think a Cabinet reshuffle would be a good opportunity to get some fresh blood. No such luck. Monday?s reshuffle brought in ministers not known for their reformist zeal; indeed, it is not clear what some did to deserve their elevation?72-year-old Mallikarjun Kharge didn?t make any significant contribution as labour minister, so it is difficult to see what he will do as the new railway minister, a ministry that needs a large dose of market-based reform. The best that can be said about his successor in the labour ministry, 85-year-old Sis Ram Ola, is that he can?t do any worse. Indeed, it can?t be good news that younger and energetic ministers should quit the government and work in the party organisation instead.
It can be argued that, since most decisions like coal-price pooling or hiking gas prices, are taken by the Cabinet or a Group of Ministers, it doesn?t really matter who is in a ministry. That is obviously true at one level, but the role of a minister is critical. In the case of the oil ministry, while a decision on hiking diesel prices was a political call, there can be little doubt the recent clearances of pending projects were dependent upon the individual minister. Similarly, in the power sector, getting through the restructuring of SEB debt was a mammoth task requiring many loose ends to be tied up. In the economy?s slog overs, the party cannot be seen as having primacy over the government.
