By chhotebhai
Kanpur, June 30, 2024: Has the dust begun to settle or the temperature begun to rise, despite the advancing monsoon? This weather barometer is political not climatic.
With the elections over, the Union Cabinet in place, the Speaker also elected and proceedings in the Lok Sabha having begun, what’s left to write home about? The allegations of arrogance and obduracy shown by Om Birla, the re-elected Speaker, are a harbinger of things to come.
Having been severely bruised at the hustings Prime Minister Modi is like a wounded tiger that is far more dangerous than a healthy one in the wild. Wounded tigers turn to soft targets that they can easily hunt down, or could even become man eaters. So, danger lurks around the corner.
Having retained his core team in the Council of Ministers, and re-electing the Speaker, the message is clear. Don’t show any signs of weakness. To the contrary, harden your face to disguise the fear.
Rahul Gandhi, the Pappu of yore and lore, has finally assumed responsibility by accepting to be the Leader of the Opposition (LOP). How he lives up to that role, or lives up to expectations, only time will tell.
In Britain, considered the mother of parliamentary democracy, the Opposition forms a Shadow Cabinet to keep tabs on the government. The LOP is referred to as the Shadow Prime Minister. I am now taking the liberty to propose a shadow cabinet for the Opposition, comprising of MPs from the constituents of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.
.
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi / Rahul Gandhi (Congress) the LOP
2. Home Minister Amit Shah / Mallikarjun Kharge (Cong) president of the party
3. Defence Minister Rajnath Sing / Akhilesh Yadav (SP); his father held this post, he himself studied in a Sainik School, and his wife Dimple comes from an army background
4. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar / Who better than Shashi Tharoor (Cong) with his experience in the UN?
5. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman / P Chidambaram (Cong) former Finance Minister
6. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan / Avdhesh Prasad (SP) the giant killer from Faizabad (Ayodhya)
7. Roadways, Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari/ John Brittas (CPIM) Rajya Sabha member, erudite speaker and activist
8. Health & Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda / Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK)
9. Law & Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal / Kapil Sibal (SP) President of the Supreme Court Bar Association
10. Railways Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav / K.C. Venugopal (Cong)
11. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan / Km Shelja (Cong)
12. Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal / Mahua Moitra (TMC) with her background as a former banker
13. Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav / Jairam Ramesh (Cong) has held this post in the past
14. Women & Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi / Supriya Sule (NCP)
15. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju / Manish Tewari (Cong) eminent lawyer
16. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju & George Kurien / Rakibul Hussain (Cong) who won with a margin of over 1 million votes
17. Civil Aviation Minister K.R. Naidu / Gaurav Gogoi (Cong)
18. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia / Priyanka Chaturvedi (SS) powerful spokesperson
Of the above 10 are from the Congress, 3 from the SP and 1 each from the CPIM, DMK, TMC, NCP and SS, which is largely reflective of the Opposition coalition. This list of course is neither exhaustive nor exclusive. I intend sending it to the heads of the various constituents of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, in the hope that they will indeed form a Shadow Cabinet.
For a healthy democracy a strong government and a vibrant opposition are equally important. It is in this spirit of democracy that I have penned these thoughts. Jai Hind.
(The writer is the convener of the Indian Catholic Forum)