India’s Modi adds Cabinet ministers, some from lower castes

NEW DELHI, July 5 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted 19 new ministers into his cabinet on Tuesday to bolster his two-year-old administration but drew criticism that he was backtracking on a promise of lean government.

Faulting the prime minister for “completely ignoring” the NDA allies, he said the entire exercise has been rendered to cosmetic changes aimed at propagating Modi as a larger than life figure. Junior minister Prakash Javadekar was promoted to the cabinet, sworn in by President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony in the colonial-era president’s palace in New Delhi on Tuesday. The northern state of Uttarakhand and the western state of Gujarat also go to the polls next year.

Minister of State Jayant Sinha shifted from Finance to Civil Aviation. Subhas Bhambre has been appointed the MoS for Defence.

Mr Modi said on Monday that the reshuffle – his second in two years – was merely a matter of course and did not cite electoral concerns as his motivation.

Modi said his government meant to ensure speed and focus in development work.

Sikh leaders and activists of BJP had assembled at Trikuta Nagar office to celebrate the induction of a sikh leader into the Union Cabinet amid dance on drum beats and distribution of candies.

A top government source told Reuters Modi had dropped five of cabinet colleagues. With an eye on Madhya Pradesh elections, Modi has inducted tribal leader Faggan Singh Kulaste, who had got involved in cash-for-vote scam in 2007.

On the one hand by dropping Minister of State for HRD Ram Shanker Katheria, he delivered a terse message to the fringe in the ruling party not to breach the “Lakshman Rekha” of discipline, on the other he also balanced the complex caste metric of Uttar Pradesh. The others belong to varied backgrounds ranging from P P Chaudhary being a senior lawyer to well-known doctor, Subhash Ram Rao Bhamre, to former bureaucrat Arjun Ram Meghwal, and environmental activist cum author Anil Madhav Dave.

Akbar was elected recently to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh while Goel represents Rajasthan in the Upper House. Mirzapur MP Anupriya Patel (35) and Rajya Sabha MP Masukh L Mandaviya (43) were brought in as young face. At the meeting of the newly constituted council of ministers, the PM reportedly asked the cabinet ministers to work in close coordination with the junior ministers. He is 65 and has been with the party for long.