Rise of women power in Modi Sarkar: Two in Cabinet Committee on Security

NEW DELHI: The significance of the current reshuffle is the rise of women power in the Modi Cabinet. The Modi government has an unprecedented six women in its Cabinet of 27 ministers, including two — external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman — in the powerful Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The other women ministers in the Cabinet are Maneka Gandhi, Smriti Irani, Uma Bharati (all from BJP) and Harsimrat Badal (SAD MP).

A government functionary on Sunday said: “Six women in Cabinet is a record of sorts… It’s a strong message of women empowerment and that the Modi government won’t shy away from giving important positions to women,” he said.

Textiles minister Irani, who was recently given an additional charge of the all-important I&B ministry, is considered pitch-perfect for spearheading the government’s information machinery ahead of the 2019 elections and countering the Congress attacks. Swaraj continues to be an asset to the government through her citizen-centric handling of the external affairs ministry and political pragmatism she brings to the CCS.

However, BJP’s veteran woman leader Uma Bharati has seen a considerable dilution in her clout. She has now been made a minister of drinking water and sanitation — one of the three ministries held by Narendra Singh Tomar. Her existing ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation has gone to Nitin Gadkari who already holds two other ministries. The firebrand leader, who recently said cleaning Ganga was her life’s aim, chose to skip Sunday’s oath-taking ceremony.

In contrast to NDA’s six, UPA had just three women ministers in its Cabinet of 33 when it bowed out of power. Till 2013, only Kumari Selja and Chandresh Kumari were a part of the Cabinet. Girija Vyas joined in during UPA-II’s last reshuffle. Miera Kumar was the sole woman Cabinet minister when UPA-I came to power.