Khattar likely to reshuffle Cabinet

CHANDIGARH: Haryana may soon be headed for a Cabinet reshuffle to distribute work more evenly among ministers. In a series of meetings to review the functioning of the Manohar Lal Khattar government, the party high command has minced no words to tell the Chief Minister that the government’s performance is far from expectation.

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26

Haryana may soon be headed for a Cabinet reshuffle to distribute work more evenly among ministers.

In a series of meetings to review the functioning of the Manohar Lal Khattar government, the party high command has minced no words to tell the Chief Minister that the government’s performance is far from expectation.

The BJP top brass, which included national secretary and in-charge of Haryana Dr Anil Jain and RSS leader Krishan Gopal, reportedly asked Khattar to consider redistributing work within his Cabinet before inducting more ministers. Highly placed sources have said that a series of meetings took place in Delhi last Friday between the Chief Minister and party functionaries. In these meetings, Khattar was told that his government had shown no landmark achievement in the past six months that was in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda of development and good governance.

According to sources, Khattar was advised to shed some of his own portfolios to manage things better. Khattar has 17 departments with him, besides any other unallocated department. The number two minister, Ram Bilas Sharma, has nine that include education and transport.

Capt Abhimanyu has 13 that include finance, revenue, excise, planning, etc. OP Dhankar has five heavy departments like agriculture, development and panchayats, irrigation, animal husbandry and dairying and fisheries. Anil Vij also has five with the main ones being health and sports.

The Chief Minister had a one-on-one meeting with Krishan Gopal, who insisted that the RSS be given a greater role in the administration of the state. It is expected that a former Indian Railway Services officer will be appointed as Principal OSD to Chief Minister at the instance of Gopal.

At the meeting between Anil Jain and Khattar -- in the presence of Capt Abhimanyu, Ram Bilas, Dhankar and Vij -- Jain is believed to have shown no hesitation in expressing the party’s displeasure at the functioning of the government.

It is learnt that he also told all five that in case, they were unable to get a grip on their departments, these could be reshuffled among them based on their comfort levels in understanding the working of various departments. Unconfirmed reports indicated that the CM has also sought BJP president Amit Shah’s nod for a Cabinet expansion. The state Cabinet has 10 ministers (seven Cabinet and three Ministers of State).