In Cabinet committees’ rejig, Shah makes it to all

New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday constituted several committees of the Cabinet and made Home Minister Amit Shah member of all of them.

Having dropped Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from all important panels on appointment and political affairs, the government issued a revised list late in the evening and added his name again to CCPA and two other panels. The development, which came with the constitution of the ministerial panels, showed the importance of Shah in Modi government 2.0.

Singh was initially kept only in Cabinet Committee on Security and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. But the fact that the government had to reconsider its decision to drop him from CCPA and add him to it within hours, underlines his importance.

In the release issued during the day, he was not included in the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, but the revised list showed that he would be heading it.

Singh, who was Home Minister in the previous government and member of six committees, is again a member of six panels, including economic affairs and security.

Shah, whose stature in the party and the government has been growing, figured in all eight committees, details of which were released by the government on Thursday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamam figured in all, but one of them.

The induction of Shah in the government has led many political observers to believe that he would be the second most powerful person in the new order. The new appointment has further cemented his position.

New panels on growth, jobs

PM Narendra Modi has constituted two new committees — one on investment and growth and the other on employment and skill development
It is perhaps for the first time that such panels have been formed, acknowledging the economic problems faced by the country