Smriti, Najma, Meghwal may be out in reshuffle

RSS unhappy with some ministers for ignoring its grievances

Sanjeev Acharya | New Delhi | 26 March, 2015 | 09:10 PM

RSS leaders wanted the Modi government to accommodate dozens of its ideologues and other important sympathisers into different positions in the Human Resource Development Ministry. Two months ago in meetings held over three days in Madhya Pradesh Bhawan a group of top RSS officials had briefed half a dozen union ministers about how to implement RSS policies in their respective ministries and which RSS men have to be appointed to which posts. To their utter dismay, RSS found that nothing happened on that front.
Subsequently a senior RSS official met Narendra Modi last month to convey their grievances. Modi immediately asked HRD Minister Smriti Irani, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and others to personally go to RSS headquarters Keshav Kunj in Delhi and convince the Sangh top brass that their grievances would be redressed. They all went and were lectured and warned. And yet nothing happened.
Now Smriti Irani is on firing line. She was recently dropped from the BJP’s national executive list declared by Amit Shah at the behest of the RSS. And if RSS men are not accommodated soon, she may lose her ministry too.
Najma Hepetullah, Minister of Minority Affairs has crossed the age of 75 and may soon be appointed as a Governor or an Ambassador to any important country as she has external affairs experience.
Controversial Union Ministers Sadhwi Niranjan of UP and Nihal Chand Meghwal of Rajasthan may be dropped.
Keeping Bihar elections in mind, Modi may induct Shahnawaz Hussain in the Union Cabinet and give him Rajya Sabha seat to be vacated by Najma Hepetullah. Hussain’s arch rival Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi may be elevated as cabinet mister of Minority Affairs.
The lone Sikh Lok Sabha MP SS Ahluwalia’s entry into the cabinet was blocked by Arun Jaitley and he may be inducted this time. Anurag Thakur, MP from Himachal Pradesh, is also sulking at being denied a ministerial birth but is chances are weak.
Dr Harsh Vardhan may get better a portfolio than his current ministry. He wants the health ministry back, and in that case JP Nadda may be shifted to another ministry.
A surprising but possible decision by Modi may be to shift Sushma Swaraj from External Affairs to a less important portfolio or may be drop her altogether.