Monday, May 26, 2014

Is a small cabinet a boon or bane?

Is a small cabinet a boon or bane?


While one can hail the 24 Cabinet (incl PM), 11 MoS(IC) and 10 MoS, it is to be seen with such a vast agenda, is it possible for the new Govt to dispense the duties properly?


Some of the questions that came up in my mind are:


1) as many political analysts said, there are distinctly unrelated ministries under the same minister


2) same MoS (IC) is having an independent department to manage and also another department for which there is a cabinet minister. Eg., Gen V K Singh, Minister for North east and Defence for which Arun Jaitley is the Cabinet Minister. so also Ms Nirmala Sitaraman. It is like reporting to two functional heads in an organisation. This is generally not regarded as a good organisational divide as justice cannot be done for both the masters.


3) some of the cabinet ministers are heavily overloaded like Arun Jaitley. Too big a bite to swallow.


4) this is a cabinet formed based on the faith on the individuals as some of them were never before a member of parliament and may not be fully aware of the nitty gritty of the governance process. Defending in a TV debate is one thing and forming / implementing policies is another.


5) can 'smallness'  alone be a driving factor? the shoe that fits the size should have been the principle. 


6) if you ask me whether this ministry is made of competence or closeness, I may tend to say that this is bordering on proximity though competency is visibly seen 


Finally, the campaign of the Congress during election seems to be coming true. The pyramid of power is too sharply rising without not much broad base. The power gets centred. 

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