Rajnath Singh to hold charge as PM Narendra Modi heads for Japan

NEW DELHI: Home minister Rajnath Singh will hold charge of the government in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who leaves for Japan on Saturday on a five-day visit. The communication formalizing Singh's position as No. 2 in the government will only be a continuation of the arrangement followed during Modi's past foreign tours, sources in the government told TOI.

According to the sources, a formal communication naming Singh as the most senior minister who will chair Cabinet meetings in case a need arises in Modi's absence was sent out by PMO ahead of his visit to Brazil last month. With Modi now embarking on a visit to Japan, the same arrangement will be in place.

In fact, the additional responsibility of holding fort while Modi tours Japan has led the home minister to postpone his own visit to forward areas in Jammu & Kashmir, originally planned for Friday. "This is because the home minister is required to be in the capital while the Prime Minister is away," a government functionary told TOI.

Singh, who has been reviewing the situation on account of firing along the international border in Jammu on a daily basis, was keen to pay a visit to the forward posts to boost the morale of BSF troops, besides interacting with civilians affected by the Pakistani aggression.

The formalization of his status as the "next in command" after Modi may be reassuring for Singh, who had on Wednesday gone ballistic against "rumours" alleging misconduct on part of his son, leading both the PMO and BJP president Amit Shah to issue statements endorsing his denial. Singh, in his outburst, had threatened to quit public life if even the slightest allegation against him or any of his family members was prima facie found to be correct.

Singh's confirmation as No. 2 in the government notwithstanding, there have been ample indications of he already enjoying this status. He was the second to take oath, immediately following the Prime Minister, at the May 26 swearing-in ceremony of the NDA government.

Singh, who as BJP president had fully backed Modi's anointment as the party's prime ministerial candidate, also holds the coveted post of deputy leader of Lok Sabha.