The Hindu : Reform-oriented changes

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Friday, Jan 31, 2003

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Reform-oriented changes

THE LATEST BJP-SPECIFIC reshuffle Atal Behari Vajpayee has made in his Council of Ministers is essentially a continuation of the `Operation Revamp' attempted less than eight months ago — and left unfinished due primarily to resistance from quite a few of those whom the party leadership wanted to shift for organisational work — in pursuance of the BJP national executive's decision at its Goa conclave, which itself was imbued with what the party called `Poll Vision 2003-04'. In the process, there has also been a `correction', so to say, as reflected in the re-induction of Arun Jaitley, who along with M. Venkaiah Naidu had quit office to take up party work last time around, and in the exit of Pramod Mahajan for assuming organisational responsibility. It looks as if, with the BJP returning to power in Gujarat, Mr. Jaitley's job was done and the party leadership believed that Mr. Mahajan, credited as he is with organisational skills, is the man of the moment when a string of politically important Assembly elections, as in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, are ahead. It is, however, a moot question whether, given his persona, Mr. Mahajan, as general secretary, would be absolutely comfortable working with Mr. Venkaiah Naidu as the party chief, one considered to be not so senior as he is in the party.

At the end of the two-phase revamping exercise, if Jana Krishnamurthi, the man who was required to step down as party president making way for Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, finds himself in a limbo, as it were, it is because the Prime Minister was keen on stripping him of the `Law' portfolio — and restoring it to Mr. Jaitley — and he himself was not willing to settle for anything else. Even at the time of the last reshuffle, one may recall, Mr. Krishnamurthi was allowed to have his way (with his demand for the Law portfolio) only after some hard bargaining and as a sop to his sense of hurt on being asked to relinquish the party presidentship. In deciding to get Mr. Jaitley back as the Law Minister, Mr. Vajpayee and possibly also the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani (who has of late been playing a dominant role), must have factored in the new `ultimatum' the VHP has issued to the Centre for handing over the `acquired land' in Ayodhya and the serious implications it has for the Government and the party alike. After all, Mr. Jaitley, during his earlier tenure, handled a similar situation as it evolved last year.

To those who were looking for a message on the economic front, the changes effected in the Ministry carry a distinct and strong signal that the Vajpayee regime intends to stick to the path of reforms. While the exit of Mr. Mahajan conveys its own message, the fact that a vigorous champion of reforms like Arun Shourie has not only been allowed to retain charge of Disinvestment (against powerful lobbying by pressure groups) but also entrusted with Communications and Information Technology — two other key areas — is seen particularly as a clear reaffirmation of the Government's commitment to reforms. Interestingly, Mr. Jaitley too has been given additional charges, Commerce and Industry (besides Law and Justice), and with this the BJP has brought within its fold most of the major economic Ministries. And Sushma Swaraj, divested of Information and Broadcasting, has taken over Parliamentary Affairs along with Health and Family Welfare, held hitherto by Mr. Mahajan and Shatrughan Sinha respectively. Whether the vesting of such important and heavy portfolios in the three, which at one level reflects the confidence the Prime Minister has in them, is only a matter of political expediency or administrative exigency or is an emerging pattern in the context of the party leadership's avowed rejuvenation effort remains to be seen.

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