The fact that the BJP is running a government without a majority on its own was reflected in the newly constituted Cabinet committees on Wednesday as well as the time taken in naming their members. The BJP’s allies in the NDA have got the highest representation in the panels since 2014. 

The members of the committees have been announced over three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the council of ministers took oath on June 9.  

One panel that will remain unchanged is the all-important Cabinet Committee on Security, which takes decisions on all national security related matters, including defence expenditure and senior appointments in the security apparatus. Headed by the Prime Minister, the committee also consists of the Ministers for Defence, Home Affairs, Finance and External Affairs and not only will the composition remain unchanged but also the people, with all the Modi 2.0 ministers in the committee retaining their portfolios. 

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which deals with economic and political issues as well as Centre-state relations and is also known as the ‘Super Cabinet’, has now got the Telegu Desam Party’s K Rammohan Naidu and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) Chief Jitan Ram Manjhi as members. 

Mr Manjhi is the minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) while Mr Naidu is the Civil Aviation minister. 

Lalan Singh from the Janata Dal United is in the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs while another key Bihar ally, Chirag Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas), has found a place in the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth. Lalan Singh aka Rajiv Ranjan Singh holds the Panchayati Raj and Animal Husbandry portfolios and Mr Paswan is the minister for Food Processing Industries. 

Jayant Chaudhary, leader of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, which was a key INDIA ally earlier, is a special invitee in the Cabinet Committee on Skill, Employment and Livelihood. Mr Chaudhary is the Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Other Key Faces

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in every cabinet committee except those on Appointments and Accommodation, which is a sign of his stature in the Modi government.  

Among new entrants, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is now the Union Agriculture minister, is on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Annpurna Devi, the minister for Women and Child Development, who is seen as the most important woman member of the cabinet after Nirmala Sitharaman, is a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.

In terms of numbers, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU are the most important allies of the BJP because they have 16 and 12 MPs respectively and are critical in taking the NDA past the majority mark. Sources said it is interesting that leaders of these two allies are not on any of the committees together. 

Setting the ball rolling for Hemant Soren to take over as the Jharkhand chief minister again, his close aide, Champai Soren, has resigned from the post just five months after taking oath. 

Champai Soren, who is seen as the number three in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, was sworn in on February 2, two days after then chief minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a land scam. He was released on bail on June 28 by the Jharkhand High Court which noted that there was reason to believe that he was “not guilty of the offence”.

After handing over his resignation to Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Wednesday evening, Champai Soren, who was earlier reported to be upset over being asked to leave the post, said in Hindi, “When the leadership had changed, I was given responsibility. You know the sequence of events. After Hemant Soren came back, we (the coalition) picked him as our leader and I have resigned. I am following the decision taken by the coalition.”

Asked when he would take oath, Hemant Soren, who was standing next to Champai Soren, said more details would be given later. 

Jharkhand is ruled by a coalition consisting of the JMM, Congress, RJD and the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation.

“Insulted”

Earlier on Wednesday, the JMM had elected Hemant Soren as the legislature party leader, paving the way for him to take over as chief minister. The move defied a very strong buzz that Champai Soren would retain the post and Hemant Soren would return as chief minister only after the Jharkhand Assembly elections, due later this year, if the coalition won.

Sources had told NDTV that Champai Soren, who is likely to be named the JMM’s Executive President, was upset at being asked to resign as chief minister and had said at the party meeting that he was feeling insulted.

Leaders of the ruling coalition reached a consensus on Hemant Soren’s return during a meeting at Champai Soren’s residence. Among the attendees were Congress’ Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir, state president Rajesh Thakur and Hemant Soren’s wife and MLA Kalpana Soren.

Sources said the decision was taken to ensure that the elections were fought with Hemant Soren as the face of the party. JMM has 27 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly, the Congress has 18 and the RJD and the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation have one each.

The BJP, which has 24 MLAs, has hit out Hemant Soren and repeated its dynastic politics charge against his family. 

Bhole Baba, the ‘godman’ whose ‘prayer meet’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras Wednesday ended in a stampede that killed 121 people, and who has been absconding since, issued a statement this evening declaring he will take legal action against “anti-social elements” that allegedly engineered the horrific chaos.

Bhole Baba, whose real name is Suraj Pal Singh, also said he expressed “deepest condolences to the families of the deceased”.

The ‘godman’ has not, so far, been named in the one police case to have been filed at this time. His aide and the event organisers have been named and they are charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and wrongful restraint. State police chief Prashant Kumar was non-committal when asked if Bhole Baba will be arrested, saying, “Action will be taken based on facts.”

Earlier today UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the organisers of the meeting had tried to “cover up the incident’, and announced a high-level committee, to be led by a retired High Court judge, to probe the incident. 

The committee, which will also include retired cops and senior civic officials will investigate potential lapses, of which several, including questions over permission and a possible lack of crowd safety measures, have already been flagged.

“The culprits won’t be spared,” the Chief Minister declared.

“We cannot deny this stampede is not an accident… (but), if not accident, then it was a conspiracy by whom? We will conduct a judicial inquiry under a retired High Court judge.”

Yogi Adityanath confirmed what reports this morning that the stampede had been triggered by a tug-of-war – between parts of the massive crowd pushing to touch the godman’s feet and those trying to leave the venue after the ‘prayer meeting’ was completed. 

“I spoke to some of the witnesses… they said that during the ‘satsang’, when women wanted to touch the godman’s feet, a sea of people pushed forward and security (Bhole Baba’s private detail) pushed back. Then they tried to cover up the issue,” he said.

“And, when people were being taken to hospitals, the security team ran away.”

Children were among 121 crushed to death by a frenzied crowd – by some estimates over 2.5 lakh – in Hathras Tuesday afternoon.