Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'The new cabinet ministers should set an example' that was published in Newsband

The new cabinet ministers should set an example

Prime Minister Narendra Modi single handedly led Bharatiya Janata Party to a thumping victory in the Lok Sabha election. Hence when the time came to choose the council of ministers nobody could challenge him. The allies were in no position to ask for prime portfolios, and power centres within the BJP were no longer powerful enough to question the decisions of a man credited with leading the party to victory.

Modi chose a leaner and younger team drawn from across India. Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley, who were most loyal to him, took their place immediately behind him. Singh got the powerful Home Ministry and Jaitley was put in charge of not only finance and corporate affairs but also defence. Sushma Swaraj, who was among the few dissenting voices in the party, was given charge of the Ministry of External Affairs. The influence of the RSS in the BJP was evident only in the choice of Nitin Gadkari.

Thus Modi has done a remarkable job. He has satisfied RSS, allies, his senior ministers as well as country too. Merging ministries seems to be a brilliant move as it will bring more accountability and better control of Modi himself.

Ever since Modi has become Prime Minister, we have been looking at a somewhat different picture of Modi as compared to what has been portrayed by the opponents. Immediately after winning he extended out his friendship to all the neighbouring countries as well as Russia, US, Japan, China, UK and others.

Only the news that 15 ministers included in cabinet ranks are those having criminal charges doesn't suit well for Modi.

Given the big majority the Bharatiya Janata Party can play it safe and sensible to address the various issues on socio-cultural and economic fronts. The PM has made a good start with a leaner and younger ministry and by sharing the power portfolios and other ministries between the BJP and its allies. Only time will tell whether the clubbing of various ministries is a wise one or not?

The ministers should work with the closest possible coordination and carry out their duties with consensus of the entire parliament. The composition of the present Lok Sabha offers a unique opportunity to conduct the proceedings peacefully and productively with decent debates and conduct of the elected representatives and to set up the finest example in parliamentary democracy. Ministers should issue statements outside the parliament, leaving no scope for retraction or further explanations that their statements were misinterpreted or they were misquoted. So here is an opportunity for the new cabinet to set an example for the future parliamentarians.