[Modi has successfully installed his best known acolyte at the helm of the party affairs. Never mind that he was pretty much junior in the party hierarchy. And, of course, that he is just out on bail in the case of alleged custodial murder of Sohrabuddin Shaikh does not at all appear to matter, either with Modi or his party. Two seniormost veterans of the party have been rather unceremoniously sidelined. Advani must be finding the *gurudakshina* from his favoured *chel*a too stunning to talk about. The Union Cabinet is completely under the thumb of the PMO, perhaps as never before. Except, of course, under the Emergency. But Delhi is not Gandhinagar. Despite the media being (largely) corporate controlled and is engaged in packaging, and re-packaging, Modi with the most attractive wrappers imaginable, goings on in Delhi are bound to attract national attention. And, if it is just one-man show, in due course even the failures, just not the successes, will be attributed to him. Moreover, the demands of the system may, rather sooner than later, may prove too huge if the system of collective working is given a go by, as the second report below draws pointed attention to.]
I/II. http://www.firstpost.com/politics/first-rajnath-now-sushma-how-pm-modi-is-sidelining-all-his-ministers-1702967.html First Rajnath, now Sushma: How PM Modi is sidelining all his ministers by FP Staff <http://www.firstpost.com/author/fp-staff> Sep 9, 2014 15:47 IST Since BJP announced him as their prime ministerial candidate, there was always speculation that if and when Narendra Modi <http://www.firstpost.com/topic/person/narendra-modi-profile-20711.html> formed a government at the Centre, power would be centralised. Since his ascension to the post of premier, Modi has demonstrated on a number of occasions that he is the one who calls the shots. The most recent example of this is detailed in this report in The Outlook, <http://www.outlookindia.com/article/External-Affairs-And-The-Armchair/291881> which notes that on his recent trip to Japan, the entire visit was all about and only about PM Modi. We saw him striking memorable poses when he was in Japan - he tried his hand at being a drummer and a wind instrumentalist. In a few photos we saw him with small children at a local school, even pulling at the ears of one; in others, he mingles with the crowd at a Kyoto Buddhist temple like any other tourist. And where was Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on this foreign trip? Nowhere to be seen, because she was made to cool her heels off in New Delhi. Those who remember the BRICS Summit in Brazil will know that this is no freak incident. Modi did not let Swaraj accompany him to Brazil either. This, according to the political pundits quoted by *Outlook,* could be the PM's "personalised style of functioning." Modi has made it quite clear, since he assumed power, that he and not his foreign minister, will be the chief spokesperson on foreign policy. This first manifested in the PM's decision to call South Asian leaders for his inaugural ceremony in New Delhi. It could however also be argued that Modi wanted to take special interest in foreign policy and hence wanted to be the chief articulator. Although, in the current context it could mean a lot more than just this. According to the *Outlook* report, the political rivalry between Modi and Swaraj has led to widespread speculation in diplomatic circles and the media on how long Swaraj can actually continue in her cabinet post. The relationship between the two has always been rocky. Although she never publicly did so, it is widely believed that Swaraj was among the few BJP leaders who actually opposed Narendra Modi <http://www.firstpost.com/topic/person/narendra-modi-profile-20711.html> as party's PM candidate. She was more noticeably, also one of the last party leaders to acknowledge that the resounding victory in the parliamentary polls was mainly because of the pull of his image. But speculations were put at rest once Swaraj got the all important external affairs cabinet berth and became a part of the core group of the cabinet committee. Officials from ministry of external affairs dub Swaraj as a fast learner and say that she "competently engages with foreign dig-nitaries." However, her camp followers still fear the unceremonial worst. Or a situation where she will be forced to resign. But under the prevailing situation, either Modi or Swaraj cannot afford to rock the boat. The report says: *"Modi, because he is running short of competent people to fill up key cabinet posts, and Sushma because she is not sure what her political future will be if she provokes Modi and loses her post."* But Swaraj can rest a little easier in the knowledge that its not just her. There has been a great deal of speculation over reports which suggested that Modi <http://ibnlive.in.com/news/pm-modi-directly-deciding-on-postings-of-senior-officers-say-reports-is-the-home-minister-powerless/491860-37-64.html> was directly deciding transfers and postings of senior officers, with Home Minister Rajnath Singh <http://www.firstpost.com/topic/person/rajnath-singh-profile-6998.html> only signing the files once the PM had taken a decision. The Cabinet Committe on Appoointments (ACC) which is in charge of appointing senior bureaucrats, had earlier included the Home Minister, Prime Minister and the concerned minister in question, but now cuts individual ministers completely out of the equation. A few recent moves of the government have also shown that Modi well and truly intends to run things in the capital. For instance, his decision to scrap the Planning Commission had raised administrative and Constitutional questions. <http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/move-to-scrap-planning-commission-raises-constitutional-questions/article6324619.ece> In his Independence Day speech on Friday, Modi announced plans to replace the Planning Commission with a new institution that will have "a new body, soul, thinking, direction and faith". This new institution would be powered by creative thinking, public-private partnership, optimum utilisation of resources, and the utilisation of youth power, Modi had said, adding that it would empower the federal structure of India. PM Narendra Modi with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. AP II. http://wap.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/modi-s-pmo-overloaded-as-ministries-go-slow-on-decisions-114091000054_1.html Nivedita Mookerji, Jyoti Mukul & Sanjeeb Mukherjee | New Delhi Sep 10, 2014 Last Updated at 12:57 AM IST Modi's PMO overloaded as ministries go slow on decisions PMO is increasingly emerging as a centralised clearance point, even for routine and ordinary issues Narendra Modi Ministers in the Narendra Modi government have been busy making presentations on their 100 days of work. But what these presentations do not mention is that decisions by ministers have been few, with plenty of papers and files moving to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which is increasingly emerging as a centralised clearance point, even for routine and ordinary issues. Though policy paralysis was a term used freely for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, questions are now being raised about pending decisions across ministries and whether at least some ministers have turned redundant. For instance, who will go as part of the Indian contingent to Incheon (South Korea) for the Asian Games is a matter that took quite a bit of PMO's time. The sports ministry, headed by Sarbananda Sonowal, sought "guidance" from PMO after finding the size of the contingent of 942, finalised by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), too large. It was only after a week-long deliberation with PMO that the ministry on Tuesday cleared a pruned contingent of 672. At other times, such clearances came from the ministry itself. The Asian Games are only 10 days away. In some cases, ministers were seeking advice and guidance from the PMO as a precautionary step to avoid taking wrong decisions, while there were other areas where Modi himself was taking charge, leaving nothing to chance, said an official. Even as a separate ministry has been created for river development and Ganga rejuvenation, the minister, Uma Bharati, has not taken any decision on her own in the past three months. To formulate a plan for Ganga rejuvenation, an issue that was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto and is close to Modi's heart, an inter-ministerial panel was set up under Roads and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. But when the Supreme Court told the government to hurry up with its plan, it was the PM himself who chaired a meeting on Ganga earlier this week. Infrastructure is a focus area for the Modi government, with several ministers holding charge of portfolios across the sector. Besides Gadkari (roads and shipping), there are Sadanand Gowda (railways), Ravi Shankar Prasad (telecom and information technology), Ashok Gajapathi Raju (civil aviation) and Piyush Goyal (power) holding infrastructure-related portfolios. But it is PMO that seems to be the hot seat for infrastructure projects. A large number of decisions and meetings, big and small, in the infrastructure sector take place at Modi's South Block office. In fact, a joint secretary in PMO, A K Sharma, is the go-to person for industry when it comes to infrastructure-related issues. *THE PLATE IS MORE THAN FULL* What keeps the PMO officials busy - Clearance for Asian Games contingent to South Korea - Critical meetings on the Ganga rejuvenation plan - Decisions on infra issues -- from power outages to aviation - Extension of the Kelkar committee's tenure for new model on oil & gas blocks - Policy on super regulator, MTNL-BSNL merger, telecom spectrum auctions - Reforming the Food Corporation of India, controlling price inflation, managing drought - All critical appointments in the govt, including pvt secretaries to ministers - Issues related to national security, foreign affairs and disaster management work following floods in J&K A civil servant told *Business Standard* the PMO-centric decisions were causing resentment among some ministers. But that might not change things. Soon after taking charge as PM, Modi had given an indication of things to come when he interacted with government secretaries on a range of issues and gave them confidence they could access him directly whenever there was a need. The PM has not left it at that. He is known to discuss important issues directly with secretaries and, at times, even joint secretaries, across ministries, without bothering about the protocol of keeping ministers in the loop. Petroleum is another sector facing the consequences of indecision. Exploration of oil & gas reserves had been impacted as Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of state for petroleum & natural gas, did not take a call on crucial matters, an analyst said. He pointed out the post of joint secretary in charge of exploration was lying vacant for about two months. The work has been divided among joint secretaries handling refineries and natural gas. Besides, the next round of bidding for oil & gas blocks under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy is yet to take off, though preparation for it began during the UPA tenure. Also, the Kelkar committee, appointed to review the suggestions on what should be the new model for the government's share in oil & gas blocks, got an extension of a month and a half after the expiry of its term. The committee, the tenure of which ended on June 30, was created by an order of the petroleum & natural gas ministry. "The minister should have decided whether the extension was coming or not. But there was a delay because it needed the PM's clearance," an official said. The ministry is yet to take a call on gas pricing, too, though this matter is not known to be with PMO. Perhaps due to all the pending decisions, Pradhan, a BJP minister holding a highly relevant portfolio, did not even figure in the list of ministers approved for holding press conferences to highlight the government's 100-day achievements. Telecom, another important economic ministry, is being seen as a lacklustre place in the Modi regime. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has not yet taken any major policy step. Also, many Telecom Commission posts are lying vacant and a draft on a super-regulator, like one envisaged in 2001, has been moved again. The PMO is believed to be closely tracking all significant telecom issues, including the proposed merger of MTNL and BSNL and the need for spectrum auction, given the controversy around 2G spectrum sale during the UPA rule. It only helps that former telecom secretary and chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Nripendra Misra is now principal secretary to the PM. Not just that. The food ministry's plan to reform the Food Corporation of India (FCI) moved back and forth for a while, after which the matter was referred to PMO. Subsequently, a committee was constituted under former Himachal Pradesh chief minister, Shanta Kumar, with a time-bound action plan to reform the corporation. According to officials, the names of the committee's members were also approved by PMO. Again, PMO has been hands-on in dealing with the issue of inflation. It coordinated directly with all ministries, including consumer affairs, holding regular meetings and sessions to know the price situation and steps being taken. On drought relief, too, PMO directly assessed the situation. On its directives, regular meetings were held with affected states and steps to give relief, such as diesel subsidy and restructured loans, were announced even before the extent of drought was clear. In addition, some officials said, major initiatives of the agriculture ministry, such as the Gaushala Yojana and the agri-insurance scheme, are being monitored by PMO. That PMO is the only real power centre in the Modi government came out clearly when foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan were called off recently, after "high-level political consultations". Also, Minister of State for Commerce, Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman had to recently skip an official visit to Myanmar for the Asean summit at the last moment as she was required to be present at the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a flagship scheme of the Modi government. The PMO under Modi vets all senior appointments in the government, including those of private secretaries to ministers. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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