NEW DELHI, May 17: Congress president Sonia Gandhi is understood to have finally permitted the Cabinet reshuffle in Madhya Pradesh, a clearance which Chief Minister Digvijay Singh has been lobbying hard for.Singh has been told by Sonia to go ahead with his plans to drop several ministers and it is believed he may axe around a dozen colleagues on the grounds of "accountability". The scale of the reshuffle is large and it will be the first such exercise conducted in a Congress-run government after Sonia took charge as party head.
Indications are that Singh could complete the reshuffle exercise this week, not wanting to lose any more time. The issue has been pending for the last two months but it was stalled as Singh's immediate future was in doubt. Some days ago, Sonia allowed Singh to stay on as Chief Minister till the Assembly polls are held.
Following this, Singh began pushing hard to change the set-up of his ministry. Apparently, Singh's argument is that a message has to be sent that people who wereunder-performing or not performing at all should make way for others. The benchmark in the impending reshuffle is the Congress performance in the 1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
Ministers in whose areas the party fared badly will go. Among the names being mentioned for the sack are Food and Civil Supplies minister Satyadev Katare and Excise minister Yadavendra Singh, considered close to Digvijay at one time. These two could have lots of company, a top Congress leader indicated today.
It is understood that 10 ministers could be dropped and two others, who became MPs in the last election, need to be replaced. Four ministers are currently under scrutiny by the Lok Ayukta which makes them vulnerable to the axe.
Apparently, the Chief Minister has drawn up a list of about 15 ministers whom he is keen to induct. All of them are now expected to start work from day one and try to boost the Congress' image in the State. While nobody is being sent to the State from the Centre as ministers, it is likely thatleaders like Bhagwan Singh Yadav and K P Singh could figure in the new lot of ministers.
Madhya Pradesh is one of the few remaining States where the Congress is in power and Singh has the onerous task of ensuring it stays that way after the coming State elections. His first test will be arranging for the "Narora-type" camp which the Congress is slated to hold in the State in August.
Cong against Presidential form of govt
The Congress today opposed the idea of switching over to the Presidential system of government and favoured continuation of the present Parliamentary system along with electoral reforms."We remain firmly committed to a representative parliamentary form of government even while recognising that electoral reforms are needed,"Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in her speech at the concluding session of the extended Congress Working Committee meeting late last night.
Sonia made it clear that the party would support a legislation that helps strengthen the Indian industry,but there were other bills like the one on delimitation that needed to be studied further.
Assuring members of a separate meeting on these bills as requested by some members, she said she would constitute a legislative affairs committee soon to help prepare party MPs for discussions on bills likely to come up in the forthcoming session of Parliament.
"We are for an effective Lok Pal. We are for one third reservation for women in Parliament and assemblies. We are for complete autonomy to the electronic media," she said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
