NEW DELHI: Communists joined the Union Council of Ministers for the first time in the nation’s history as Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda last week expanded his ministry by including 14 more members including five in the cabinet rank.

Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary Indrajit Gupta and party’s senior leader from Bihar Chaturanan Mishra were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers by President Shankar Dayal Sharma in the glittering Ashoka Hall of Rashwapati Bhawan in the presence of a bevy of senior leaders of the United Front. Congress President P.V. Narasimha Rao was also present in the front row greeting the new incumbent as they passed him by before and after the formal ceremony.

The other highlight of last week’s ministerial expansion was the induction of noted agricultural economist, Mr. Yogendra Alagh as a Minister of State. He was a member of the fact finding committee which was appointed in 1995 by the Cauvery Water Tribunal to establish the veracity of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka claims.

A significant aspect of the ministerial expansion is the induction of a large number of upper caste ministers this time, of the five cabinet rank entrants at least two are Brahmins and four are upper caste. Only Mr. Srikanta Jena being an OBC is an exception. In fact, even in the minister of state category of the 11 names in the original list six are upper caste, pointed out a UF sources. Two of them, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Satpal Maharaj, will be sworn in later.

Interestingly, although the United Front has been talking a lot about making 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, the list of the new entrants does not include a single woman member. In fact, so far Mr. Deve Gowda has inducted only one woman in his council of ministers. Mrs. Kanti Singh, that too under pressure from his party chief and Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav. Asked why no women were taken in Mr. Deve Gowda smiled and said, “There are no women in the friendly parties.”

However, the fact is that several names were suggested to him from both within the Janata Dal and by the friendly parties, these included that of Mrs. Kamla Sinha who is a Rajya Sabha member and a senior Dal leader. Infect, Mr. Deve Gowda has reportedly assured Mrs. Sinha of correcting a “mistake” committed last time round.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 3, 1996