Published: Saturday, Sep 11, 2010, 2:00 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_pm-manmohan-singh-has-to-wait-to-infuse-fresh-blood-in-council-of-ministers_1436534
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have to wait for a few more months to bring down the average age of his council of ministers.
The prospect of a cabinet reshuffle before the winter session of parliament appears dim given the busy political calendar in the coming months.
Indications are ministerial changes may take place only in January-February 2011.
A number of important events and political issues are lined up between September and December. Right now, the entire Union government and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit are working overtime to make the Commonwealth Games a success. There is a whisper in political circles that Dikshit may be relieved of her chief ministerial responsibility following allegations of inefficiency and corruption in Games preparations. She may be inducted into the Union cabinet as a placatory gesture. But this will be possible only after the Games get over in mid-October.
Moreover, the entire party machinery will be busy with the Bihar assembly polls, which begin on October 4 and end on November 26. Singh may still reshuffle his team in this period but if Bihar is left out once again, it could become an emotive issue.
This is the first government in recent years which does not have a cabinet minister or a minister of state from Bihar. The prime minister would not like to ruffle feathers when Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi are campaigning in the state.
US president Barack Obama is scheduled to visit India on November 9 and will keep the government busy in that period.
Even after the end of the winter session, Singh may not find enough leg space for changes. The party will be busy with preparations for its 125th foundation day on December 28. Though the venue for the Congress plenary session has not been fixed yet, this is going to be a big event.
There are some who question the necessity of a reshuffle now. There is no political compulsion to either drop any particular minister or induct a political heavyweight. Except for telecom minister A Raja, nobody is in threat.
With regard to bringing down the average age of the cabinet, sixministers belonging to Congress are above 70. They are: SM Krishna, Pranab Mukherjee, Virbhadra Singh, BK Handique, MS Gill and M Veerappa Moily. All of them are high-profile ministers and will be difficult to replace.
Other 70-plus leaders such as Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah belong to allies and can’t be touched.
