Out of line

Uninspiring as this cabinet reshuffle appeared to be for the signals it sent on governance issues,it provoked several senior Congress leaders into open tantrums. Gurudas Kamat indicated his displeasure at being given the water and sanitation portfolio by quitting the council of ministers altogether; Srikant Jena has refused to take charge as minister of state for statistics and programme implementation,and blamed “coalition compulsions” for his not making cabinet grade; and Veerappa Moily,who has been moved from law to corporate affairs,delivered an astonishing rant about a “campaign by vested interests”,and how he was being “hanged for the sins of other ministries”. Meanwhile,Vilasrao Deshmukh,who had been shifted from the rural development ministry to science and technology,compared the whole exercise to a kho-kho game and skipped the swearing-in ceremony to lobby for the presidency of the Mumbai Cricket Association.

These may just be passing fits of pique,but they speak volumes about the lack of cohesion within the ruling coalition — temporarily thwarted ambition can drive the UPA’s leaders to publicly question their decision-makers and speculate on their motives. Moily cannot mutter darkly about vested interests influencing the prime minister,and then disclaim the remarks,saying “yesterday was yesterday” — having made such a large and damaging claim,he must back it up with evidence. Though the Congress has not taken any disciplinary action against these individuals,these small insurrections chip away at the authority of the PM at a moment when he is most vulnerable.

But apart from the swollen sense of entitlement,these tantrums reveal a disdain for certain categories of work. One would think that drinking water and sanitation are deeply important matters for

India. Similarly,statistics and programme implementation can be a critical ministry,if it commits to keeping infrastructure and welfare programmes on track and throwing greater sunlight on government processes. However,political leaders are not willing to attach any dignity to that labour,and instead hanker after jobs with more clout,and a greater interface with industry. The ministries that matter are evidently not the ones where you can make a tangible difference to millions of citizens or craft innovative policy,but those where you can throw your weight around.