Akhilesh prepares for massive cabinet, administrative rejig

The Samajwadi Party (SP) government completes four months on Sunday, and a major shake-up of the Akhilesh Yadav ministry as well as the state administration is on the cards. Highly placed sources revealed to The Sunday Standard that SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav may have given full marks to his son’s government in public on completion of 100 days in office, but he is not fully satisfied with its functioning. They said that the way many major decisions are announced and then suddenly withdrawn has not gone down well with the SP supremo.

Some of the ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav government have also let down their own government at times. For example, Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan wrote a letter to the Principal Secretary (Medical and Health), saying  that if doctors are not available in government hospitals, it would be better to close them. Khan’s letter was like a bombshell and a comment on his own government, but neither party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav nor chief minister Akhilesh Yadav could do anything as Khan is the Muslim face of the party and disturbing him would not send out a favourable message.

On the other hand, ministers like Shivpal Yadav have been successful in pushing the party’s agenda and making an impact in his portfolios. Shivpal Yadav has not only ordered a series of inquires into the previous BSP government’s dream projects, but has also placed nearly 100 officers of his departments under suspension.

At present there are 47 ministers part from the chief minister, so there is vacancy of about 12 ministers that the SP is likely to fill up. Within the party, the overall opinion is that some of the ministers have not risen to the desired standards, and some of the key officers in the government have also not performed as desired. It is in this backdrop the top leadership of the party has got into the mood for a reshuffle of the ministry and inclusion of more ministers.

A list of MLAs and senior functionaries of the party is also being finalized to elevate them as chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of various PSUs to grant them status of minister of state .This is an attempt to satisfy some of the MLAs and functionaries who have been sulking at being deprived of plum posts in the government.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has 51 portfolios with him now; he has not been able to hold meeting with the officers of many departments .The chief minister, who returned from his five-day vacation of Europe on July 13, is likely to shed some of his work to his Cabinet colleagues .

Similarly, the ruling party is also actively considering a major administrative reshuffle down to the district level. The ruling party leadership is not happy over the manner in which communal riots, caste clashes and incidents of crime were not tackled in some districts. It was in this backdrop that Chief Secretary Javed Usmani on Saturday called a meeting of divisional commissioners and zonal IGs to tighten the administration.

Usmani asked his officers to concentrate on the developmental works and improve policing to control the crime. On Saturday, Akhilesh attended two public functions, including the launching of a book, but chose not to chair the meeting convened by the chief secretary.

The second reason behind  a likely reshuffle in the police is the promotion of senior IPS officers. About a dozen of senior IPS officers had been promoted about two months back, but in view of the civic polls in the state, the government could not post them to new position according to their seniority. They are waiting for their new postings after their vacations.