NEW DELHI: Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao will have to take a close look at the composition of his ministerial council almost immediately after his return from Jakarta soon and give effect to the much awaited plans to reshuffle and restructure the Cabinet. Among the most of problems Rao will face in the exercise will be a decision pertaining to the future of Railway Minister C.K Jaffar Sharif who has been severely indicted for his role in the controversial bogie deal by the Delhi High Court and has also been at the receiving end from the Parliamentary Railway Convention Committee for the ABB loco deal.

Besides filling in key slots in the Government, the Prime Minister will have to decide on the future of half a dozen of his Cabinet colleagues who have either embarrassed the Government or are likely to prove liabilities in the near future as the hearings of the Joint Parliamentary Committee gather momentum,

Also attracting the Prime Minister’s attention will be Agriculture Minister Balram Jakhar’s plea that fertilizers be detached from the department of chemicals and fertilizers and instead attached to his Ministry.

Key jobs in the Government, including that of Cabinet Ministers for External Affairs, Industry and Commerce are vacant. The question of filling up MEA post in particular should be of the Prime Minister, who has had to bear the responsibility after the ignominious exit of Madhaysinh Solanki.

Two junior Ministers, Eduardo Faleiro and R.L Bhatia have been more engaged in carving out territory in the Ministry than lessening the Prime Minister’s load.

Industry, yet another onerous responsibility, is also under the Prime Minister since the Rao Government assumed office last June,

Given the need to raise the industrial output and attract foreign investment, the job needs the fulltime attentions of a competent incumbent, and Rao would be on the look-out for such activities.

Same is the case with Commerce, which has been virtually headless after the exit of P. Chidambaram, and needs a Cabinet Minister urgently,

Filling in names for these jobs is not all. The Prime Minister has been for some time working on reorganizing and realigning Ministries and departments in order to ensure better functioning and coordination,

P.C .Alexander, formerly the Principal Secretary to the late Indira Gandhi, and ex-High Commissioner to London, who was entrusted with the task of planning the restructuring the ministries, is reported to have submitted to the Prime Minister the new lay-out.

The new proposals are said to have taken into account Jakhar’s desire to annex fertilizers, as well as envisaging a new department of industrial production the functions of some other Ministries are likely to be excised and added to the more relevant ones.

No mega ministries are likely, but the birth of a new department of textiles and textiles production and small industries and food processing are predicted.

At the same time, the stress is said to be on cutting flab, reducing empires and doing away with sinecures by clubbing chopping chipping and pruning.

But the main problem before the Prime Minister is what to do with some of the Ministers who have provided fodder to the Opposition, and some others whose names are likely to be linked to the securities scam,

Opposition leaders have been dropping tantalizing hints as the information they will be posting before the JPC involving some Ministers in the scam.

Given the swiftness with which he acted in the case of Solanki, the Prime Minister is most likely to use the opportunity of effecting changes in the Cabinet to preempt embarrassing revelations by dropping some of the Ministers.

This will also given him opportunity to induct promising talent, free from any shackles.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 18, 1992