After omitting Rajnath, Centre includes him in six Cabinet committees
Within a day, a lot happened in the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted eight Cabinet committees and gave Home Minister Amit Shah a place in all of them, confirming his position as number 2 in government. However, the exclusion of Rajnath Singh from them raised many questions and speculations in political circles. Later, he was included in six committees. What led to this change of heart? Let's decode.
Norms made Singh senior-most leader, yet he was ignored
Singh took oath immediately after PM Modi on May 30, making him the senior-most member of the Cabinet. In Modi 1.0, Singh was the Home Minister and played a pivotal role in government's decision. Initially, Singh was included in two crucial committees of Security and Economic Affairs. But his exclusion from committees formed to focus on employment crisis and economic growth led to questions.
Shah was a member of all panels, Sitharaman of five
Political corridors went abuzz after Singh was left out. Some reports went as far as claiming that Singh threatened to resign, forcing RSS, the parent organization of BJP, to step in. Notably, while PM Modi himself was a part of six Cabinet committees, Shah was included in all. Separately, Nirmala Sitharaman was named in seven panels and Piyush Goyal became a member of five.
By night, Singh became head of committee on Parliamentary Affairs
By Thursday night, Centre released a "revised" release to accommodate Singh in six of the eight key panels. In what seems like a step to placate him, Singh was made the head of committee on Parliamentary Affairs. After the changes, Singh is now a part of Cabinet committees on Economic Affairs, Security, Parliamentary Affairs; Political Affairs; Investment and Growth; and Employment and Skill Development.
Subsequently, Singh's office 'clarified' he never 'threatened' to resign
Party functionaries tried to play down the changes. One BJP member reminded IE, "Rajnath Singh took the oath of office after Prime Minister Narendra Modi," in hope of explaining his seniority. "The revision appears to be an afterthought given the impression it created the moment the committees were announced in the morning," another leader said. Meanwhile, Singh's office denied reports of his "resignation threat".
