news details |
|
|
| Big two from Jammu Kashmir untouched in central cabinet reshuffle | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 12: Everbody talks of big four who have not been affected by today's reshuffle in union cabinet. In fact since yesterday it was in the air that neither Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, nor the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, nor the Defence Minister. A.K. Antony nor the External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna, were to be dropped.
It happened when Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, reshuffled the council of ministers by dropping seven deadwood and inducting eight new faces. This way there has been an addition of only one minister indicating that the Prime Minister is committed to observe austerity measures while reshaping the ministry and in running the Government affairs.
Yes, the big four have not been touched. But nobody talks about the big two from Jammu and Kashmir. The big two in the union cabinet are Dr Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The two have not been touched because their performance has not been below average. They have done and are doing their job well. But the basic idea behind retaining the big two from Jammu and Kashmir is more of political than administrative.
By not touching Farooq Abdullah Manmohan Singh in general and the UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, in particular have conveyed to the National Conference leadership that its alliance with the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir is a durable arrangement atleast till the next election, due in 2014.
In the middle of civilian strife last summer, in which 118 people were killed in police action, which had rocked Kashmir valley the centre had thought of replacing Omar Abdullah by his Father, Farooq Abdullah, as Chief Minister. Now that the situation in the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed marked improvement the centre did not find any reason for changing the guard. Hence the dice for retaining Farooq as cabinet Minister was cast about 14 days ago.
It is not that the Congress led UPA Government had no alternative to Farooq Abdullah but the Prime Minister did not want to lose a charismatic personality like Farooq. In order to accommodate the National Conference in the cabinet the Prime Minister could have inducted Mohd. Shafi Uri or Dr Mehboob Beg. Both are seasoned politicians and administrators as both have occupied Ministerial posts in Jammu and Kashmir on one occasion or the other. But their stature was not as tall as that of Farooq Abdullah.
As far as Ghulam Nabi Azad is concerned his loyalty to the Gandhi family has been tested during the last 25 years.
He is treated as a trouble shooter in the camp of Congress and its allies.
Despite some controversies his performance as the Union Minister for Health has been satisfactory.
Another reason for Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi for retaining Azad in the cabinet is their urge to project the Congress high command against regional discrimination. Since Farooq hails from Kashmir the UPA wanted a man from Jammu region and Azad fulfills that norm.
It has been seen that when Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad are in power they work as disciplined politicians and ministers.
Without power Farooq Abdullah regains his nuisance values and same can be said about Azad.
By retaining him in the Union Cabinet Azad may not get more time for dabbling in the congress politics in Jammu and Kashmir.
Hope he stops encouraging the dissidents in the state unit of the Congress in eroding the base of the party in Jammu and Kashmir. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
