NEW DELHI: The much awaited changes in gubernatorial postings and the Union council of ministers have been delayed further following a series of quick developments, such as the worsening communal riots, the resignation of the civil aviation minister, Madhav rao Scindia, and issues connected to the SAARC meet.
While the exercise over the changes in the gubernatorial postings had reached the final stage and a formal announcement was expected Saturday night, it was put off at the last minute by a day or two. According to sources, the governors of Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh, Swaraj Kaushal, Dighe, Y.D.Sharma and Satyanarayana Reddy, respectively, were on the chopping block.
According to reports, Satyanarayana Reddy had a meeting with the Prime Minister, P.V_Narasimha Rao, after which he gave the impression that he would continue at the post The charge against Swaraj Kaushal, husband of the BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj, is that he had converted Raj Bhavan into party office. The Orissa governor, is a known functionary of the RSS before he assumed the charge.
Though the sudden resignation of the civil aviation minister, Madhavrao Scindia, and the threat to quit by the railway minister, Jaffer Sharif, have added to the urgency for a major cabinet reshuffle, the Pome Minister, Narasimha Rao, has not made up his mind over the final composition of his team. It is likely that the exercise would take some time as there are about half a dozen vacancies.
Scindia, who had a meeting with Rao on Friday night, met him again the next day with his letter of resignation. Later, the Prime Minister spoke with him twice over the telephone. The Prime Minister’s political aide, Jitendra Prasada, and the AICC (I) general secretary, Shinde, also met Scindia to persuade him not to insist on the resignation. The official Rashtrapati Bhavan announcement accepting the resignation came late in the night An influential Congress (I) leader of Madhya Pradesh, Scindia has an important role to play in the ruling party’s emerging power politics at the Center. To the Prime Minister, Scindia is the most important person to counter the human resources minister, Arjun Singh, who has been taking a radically different view of the government’s approach towards the BJP.
Jaffer Sharif’s threat is more complicated issue to the Prime Minister because of his outbursts against the Congress (I) chief ministers. Another factor complicating the issue is Sharif’s decision to tie his future with the decision of the Muslim Personal Law Board. Senior party leaders have condemned Sharif’s position that he would decide on whether to continue in the ministry only on the basis of the Personal Law Board’s decision.
The problem for the Prime Minister is that any action against Shanif, who is fast emerging as a representative of the Muslim community within the Congress (I), might send wrong signals in the present communally surcharged atmosphere. This will also put other Muslim ministers in his team in a quandry.
Obviously, the Prime Minister cannot effort to take a hasty decision on such sensitive issues without evaluating the full implications of the Muslim Personal Law Board’s decisions. Added to this are the reports of worsening law and order situation in Bombay and Gujarat Rao held discussions with senior leaders on curbing violence in the troubled areas.
Also, much of Rao’s time was taken to sort out the SAARC controversy. However, with the conference now postponed, the Prime Minister can take up the issue of cabinet reshuffle for a couple of days.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 15, 1993
