There is much speculation regarding the impending cabinet-rejig exercise to be undertaken by Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Who will be retained, who will be the new entrants, who will be ousted, will the entire cabinet be replaced; these are the questions in everyone’s minds.
But, in hindsight, it is a wrong idea to replace the cabinet every two and half years.
Here’s why!
The YCP has formed the government for the first time and none of the Ministers have any prior experience. They will have to understand the way their departments function, get a grasp of the technical details of their concerned Ministry, develop a rapport with the bureaucrats and other officials and more importantly, understand the shortcomings of their departments and find out ways to make their Ministries more accessible to the common public.
Naturally, this process alone will take up the better part of two years. Once they are replaced after 2 years, all their work would have gone in vain and the new Minister would have to start from scratch. In such a scenario, no real welfare can accrue to the public.
From a political point of view, this might seem like a sound move as more number of Party loyalists can be accommodated without ruffling tempers. But as said earlier, no real benefits can accrue to the public. For example, let us take the case of the Irrigation Ministry.
Polavaram, the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh is facing umpteen hurdles and there are issues with Telangana over river water sharing almost on a daily basis.
In the last couple of years, Anil Kumar Yadav might have gained some understanding of these various issues. If a new person comes in now, can he readily acclimatise himself to the demands of the position? This mid-term cabinet overhaul idea seems to be one generated by IPAC.
But, with all due respect to IPAC, the Chief Minister should select the right person for the post after a rigorous screening and then give him sufficient time to deliver failing which the Ministers would only be preoccupied with retaining their portfolios.
Kiran Sharma
