Opinion - Editorials   

Retrieving lost authority

Cabinet reshuffles are crisis-laden affairs for governments that have only a wafer-thin majority in the legislature. But for Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the reshuffle was an opportunity to assert his constitutional authority, seriously eroded last year during the dissident activity spearheaded by the mining lobby of the Reddy brothers. Although Mr. Yeddyurappa did not touch the portfolios of the two brothers, G. Janardhan Reddy and G. Karunakara Reddy, he did bring back their bête noire Shobha Karandlaje as Minister. Ms Karandlaje, a close associate of the Chief Minister, had been dropped from the cabinet in November 2009 as part of a compromise formula to appease the Reddy brothers, who found her too meddlesome in the reported illegal aspects of their mining interests. In the latest reshuffle, marked by uncharacteristic boldness, Mr. Yeddyurappa also dropped the Independent, Gulihatti D. Shekhar, who was considered a part of the coterie of the Reddy brothers. The changes have strengthened Mr. Yeddyurappa and diluted some of the extra-constitutional authority wielded by the brothers within both the cabinet and the bureaucracy. The post-reshuffle dissidence also appears to have died down with many of the party legislators being promised posts as heads of government boards and corporations. There are no more ministerial berths to be offered as sops, with the cabinet strength now at the maximum permissible limit of 34.

Mr. Yeddyurappa found it easier to have his way because of the legal tangles that the Reddy brothers had got into on account of the charges of illegal mining. The brothers from Bellary have deep pockets, and could boast of friends in high places, especially among the national leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. But with the Supreme Court suspending mining activity in the iron ore mines owned by the brothers, and the backroom manipulations of the mining lobby out in the open, any blatant support for the brothers would involve a huge political cost. In the months after the revolt inspired by the Bellary mining magnates, Mr. Yeddyurappa slowly won the full backing of his party leadership, as also of many of the legislators in the rival camp. His hands were also further strengthened by the successes of the BJP in the by-elections. The Chief Minister can now concentrate on the tasks of governance without having to constantly look over his shoulder. The hard-won political authority should not be wasted in petty factional wars, but must be spent in ensuring a better-functioning government than what was provided in the first half of his term.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Retrieving lost authority
Living with Gajah
Only our fears can encircle us
Ayodhya: is a solution possible?
For a more circumspect involvement in Afghanistan
‘Jewish boat to Gaza' leaves Cyprus
Child abuse gets fair media attention
Better late?
Ayodhya issue
Tragedy in Bengal

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu