Two days after Suresh Prabhu offered to resign as the Railways Minister, Lutyens’ Delhi is abuzz with the talk of Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari taking his place. Prabhu had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi after two successive train derailments in Uttar Pradesh in less than five days took a hit at his reputation.
The replacement will be made at the impending Cabinet reshuffle, according to a report in Financial Express. The report added that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s recent statement, asserting that “accountability was a good statement”, only goes to confirm Prabhu’s ouster.
Gadkari Not Keen on Taking Over Railways: Sources
Sources close to Gadkari, however, told The Quint that he is not too keen on taking charge of the railways ministry. According to his confidantes, Gadkari wants to strengthen the image that he has set for himself as the transport minister. The railways portfolio, therefore, will increase the burden of work on him.
Interestingly, Gadkari was promised the charge of both railways and transport back in 2014, something that didn’t reach fruition.
Since Modi would not want anything to go wrong, especially before the 2019 general elections, the news of handing over railways to Gadkari becomes even more significant. Gadkari, with his current track record, has been hailed by the Prime Minister in public speeches quite often.
PM Modi Looking For “Experienced” Administrators
According to a report in The Economic Times, Modi is considering a short list of “experienced” administrators. He is looking for a leader who has a better track record.
“He (Modi) would prefer a dedicated minister to look at reform. Someone who has proved his mettle, is sincere and focused on the ministry full-time," The Economic Times quoted a senior official as saying.
Possibilities in the Cabinet Reshuffle
The possibility of elevating the cabinet ranks of power minister Piyush Goel and petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan in this Cabinet reshuffle is quite high.
Sources also suggest that if Congress’ Maharashtra leader Narayan Rane’s joins the BJP, he could be made a state minister. Also, there’s a possibility that Kalraj Mishra and Radha Mohan Singh might be removed from their cabinet positions.
Cabinet berths would also be given to JD(U) as and when the party formally joins the NDA. PDP and Shiv Sena are also expected to get cabinet berths, sources said.
(With inputs from Financial Express and The Economic Times.)
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