Modi is in full control in his Second Term.
Doubts were cast on him when he took oath in 2014 as PM. He was a Delhi outsider, and had to make compromises to be nominated as BJPs PM Candidate. People questioned his lack of experience in the area of Foreign Affairs, while grudgingly admitting his administrative abilities as Gujarat CM.
I have always felt Modi was forced to accommodate Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh as three of his Senior most Ministers and allot them the most important portfolios of Finance, External Affairs and Home.
Of the three, Rajnath Singh acquitted himself well as Home Minister, albeit with a lot of help from Ajit Duval. He strengthened the Internal Security Situation and almost destroyed the Naxal problem, which was spreading like cancer. Demonetization helped Rajnath Singh a lot in cutting off the flow to terrorists and naxals, and that was not his doing. Also, it one has to give a major share of the credit to the National Security Advisor Ajit Duval, who was the brain behind beefing up the Internal Security. But at least Rajnath Singh allowed him to do his job. So let us give the man his due. Where he was a failure was in not initiating long term plans to reform our Police System, which is a disgrace to India.
Arun Jaitley was a disaster as Finance Minister, whatever his cheerleaders say. He soft pedaled the inquiries on many a scandal, and almost lost Modi the elections, because the common refrain was that Modi couldnt get the corrupt punished. At times it looked like the Finance Minister was shielding many crooked Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Robert Vadra, P Chidambaram, Karti Chidambaram and a host of other politicians like Raja, Kanimozhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, or even Mamta Bannerjee. Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi absconded during his vigil, and only some deft work by Modi and the lawyers saved the situation. Chidambaram and his cronies had laid many a mine field in the Finance Ministry before they left, and Arun Jaitley, instead of defusing, added his own. Whatever little progress that happened in these cases was during the period Piyush Goyal was standing in for Arun Jaitley, which forced Arun Jaitley to cut short his recovery period and take over the Ministry to reverse many a good decision Piyush Goyal made. There have been whispers about his closeness to Congress leaders, especially P Chidambaram. Karma is a bitch. It hit him back towards the end of the tenure affecting his health, which made him decide to not be part of the Modi 2 Government. For me it is Good Riddance.
Less said about Sushma Swaraj, the better. She never wanted Modi to be the PM, but was accommodated to pacify L K Advani. Modi superbly sidelined her by placing S Jayasankar as the Foreign Secretary, and he himself taking the lead in developing International Relationships. As Modis stature grew, Sushmas diminished. She was reduced to responding to tweets from NRIs seeking trivial help (which is not her job, in any case), and granting Medical Visas to Pakistanis, which was hated by the Core BJP Voters. She decided not to contest again, and hence would have to be accommodated in the Rajya Sabha, if she were to be made Minister again. Her health is also questionable like Jaitleys. Maybe she will be sent to US or UK as an Ambassador. This was another non performer who doesnt fit with Modis style of functioning.
Am happy to see Maneka Gandhi kicked out. If ever there was an undeserving talentless Minister, it is Maneka. And she is burdened with an arrogant sulking son, who thinks he is to be anointed as UP Chief Minister because of the Gandhi surname.
A few of the apple polishing non performers like Radha Mohan Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been eased out. The message is clear, Ship up or Shape Out.
I am really sorry to see the biggest failure in Modi 1 Government Pakash Javedkar continuing in Modi 2. This guy was an absolute disaster as HRD Minister. Likewise Ravishankar Prasad. A late inductee in Modi 1, Alphonse Kannamthanam is shown the door for not being able to deliver Christian Votes in Kerala, and justly so. The guy created controversies whenever he opened his mouth, which was far too often.
This post is about those who were deservedly show the door. About the new Cabinet, we will discuss in another post, once the Portfolios are announced
