Ramesh moved out of environment ministry to rural development

Moily gets MCA, law for Khurshid & Natarajan to oversee environment

Tuesday?s Cabinet reshuffle, the second this year and the one the Prime Minister himself described as the last in the current UPA regime, was not a radical surgery, but a half-hearted attempt to address the symptoms of drift in the government. While industry was reassured with Jairam Ramesh?s removal from the environment ministry, Manmohan Singh apparently shied away from using the Cabinet rejig to send clear signals on how he intended to tackle sticky issues confronting the government such as corruption, stubbornly high inflation and stalled economic reforms.

The devil, as the saying goes, is in the details. The reshuffle saw Ramesh elevated to Cabinet rank as rural development minister and veteran parliamentarian Kishore Chandra Deo as tribal affairs minister.

Talking to reporters after the swearing-in at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Singh said the reshuffle reflects a ?balance necessary between various states, and consideration of efficiency, consideration of continuity? in the government.

Sources in the Prime Minister?s Office said the reshuffle showed the government?s commitment to getting on with some important business and handling its affairs in Parliament a little better.

?Ramesh’s exit from the environment ministry will send a positive signal to the industry; at the same time, his particular skill set of dealing with civil society activists will come in handy in dealing with the next big legislation on the UPA’s agenda, the land acquisition Bill,? said an official. The environment portfolio ? which has gained in importance in recent years from corporate India’s perspective thanks to Ramesh’s uncompromising ways ? will now be handled by the suave and articulate Jayanthi Natarajan as MoS with independent charge.

Another key change was the relocation of Veerappa Moily from law to corporate affairs. Salman Khurshid would be the new law minister. Trinamool Congress’ Dinesh Trivedi has been elevated to Cabinet rank with railway portfolio. Ministers who handled dual portfolios like Kapil Sibal (HRD and telecom) and Vayalar Ravi (civil aviation and overseas Indian affairs) would continue to hold them. In fact, Anand Sharma has been added to this list as he will now be minister for commerce and textiles. ?The last reshuffle saw food minister KV Thomas being elevated to independent charge to take on the responsibility of the Food Security Bill. In this way, work is being ensured,? said the source. That the reshuffle was conducted under several constraints was obvious: the failure to drop Vilasrao Deshmukh, despite his lacklustre performance in heavy industries and rural development portfolios pointed to such a compulsion. Some under-performing ministers like BK Handique, MS Gill and Kantilal Bhuria were, however, removed. Of course, there were some flourishes of creative thinking, for example, the appointment of Rajiv Shukla as parliamentary affairs minister. Shukla, with his years as a journalist and a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has contacts across the political spectrum and would therefore be good at floor management and liaising with the opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley is counted as a personal friend and wouldn’t come in the way of Shukla in his new assignment. Kishore Chandra Deo as tribal affairs minister would be more effective especially when the Congress ? and leader Rahul Gandhi in particular ? is looking for a boost in the tribal regions of Orissa. Deo is from Parvatipuram, a district bordering Orissa, in Andhra Pradesh. Milind Deora and Jitendra Singh, the two ?young faces? in this reshuffle are clearly Rahul Gandhi’s men, and Deora’s inclusion is seen as a quid pro quo for his father Murli Deora’s exit.

Another fallout of Deora Junior’s inclusion is a promotion for Gurudas Kamat, a long-time rival of Murli Deora in Mumbai politics. Many ministers still labour under two or more portfolios. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma has got additional charge of textiles, a seat he needs to keep warm until the DMK makes up its mind.

The reshuffle could have been an opportunity for the government to make a last-ditch attempt to correct its course, especially in infrastructure and economic reforms. But the reshuffle, with its mixture of domestic political compulsions and a certain timidity in taking decisions has all the makings of a lost opportunity.