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| Bickering over ministerial berths, portfolios is uncalled for | | editorial | |
If an inordinate delay of ten months in expansion of Ghulam Nabi Azad
Council of Ministers was aimed at avoiding heart burning, bickering
and dissension among the coalition partners and within the parties in
the coalition, the same purpose has not been achieved by the induction
of 9 more members in the already existing 13 members Council of
Ministers. While non-inclusion in the expansion of any one from the
coalition partners of Congress, other than the PDP, has led them
fuming, a large number of Congress leaders and workers are openly
expressing their dissatisfaction with exclusion of many contenders in
the party. In a cabinet form of democratic government choice of his
ministerial colleague, in normal course, is the prerogative of the
Prime Minister in the Union government and chief Ministers in the
federal states. But, with coalition politics having come into being,
lately in India, this prerogative has got some restrains and
limitations. The leaders of the parties, supporting the main coalition
partner, whose nominee heads the government, naturally would like to
reserve their right in the choice of ministers to be taken from their
party. Still there is no binding on the Prime Minister or the Chief
Ministers to consult all the leaders of coalition partners and accept
their choice about cobbling up his ministerial team. It is only for
the sake of political stability and to ensure continues support of the
small partners that the Chief Minister in a coalition government feels
the need to consult the leaders of parties in the coalition. In this
respect Azad has committed no impropriety and the coalition partners
whose nominees are left out should have no reason to grumble on this
count, so far as the Chief Minister enjoys their confidence. Similarly
in the matter of allotment of portfolios to his team of ministers, it
is the prerogative of the Chief Minister. His ministerial colleagues
and the leaders of supporting parties have no right to insist on
particular portfolio to be allotted to a particular minister, the
Chief Minister who is the head of the team of his ministers as also
the leader of the House of Legislatures is to decide whom to fit where
and who can discharge the duties best in presiding over a particular
department or departments. In this regard the tug of war among various
ministers among the coalition partners and those from within a party
have no right to insist for particular portfolios to be allotted to
them. Hence the bickering with claims and counter claims by the PDP
and the Congress over the portfolios is totally uncalled for.
Nevertheless to keep a fine balance in share of power among the
coalition partners, the Chief Minister has to ensure that all his
supporting allies are satisfied over the distribution of portfolios
among the ministers. Further with coalition governments of multi
parties having become a necessity, with no single party getting
majority on its own, a sort of convention built about distribution of
portfolios among the ministers from different coalition partners has
to be adhered. In this regard the distribution of key portfolios as
was done by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during his tenure as Chief Minister
needs be followed now with Congress nominee, Ghulam Nabi Azad heading
the government, under power sharing arrangement with the PDP. Under
this arrangement the important portfolio of Finance should normally go
to the share of the Congress, until the Chief Minister decides
otherwise.
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