Cabinet Reshufflement System
- In Parliamentary from of govt. Cabinet Reshuffling are common & can passed off to when the top of the govt. changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet & it has taken from British constitution.
- Now what are the essential difference between the Cabinet and council of minister (CoM) :-
| Council Of Ministers | Cabinet |
| Cabinet ministers of state & deputy ministers | Part of council of ministers. Ministers who holds important portfolios |
| Constitutional body | 44th constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 |
| Up to the PM to consult with council of minister
|
PM seeks their advice on important matters , decisions are binding to all ministers |
| Meeting are rare | Cabinet meets as frequent as possible to form policies |
| Collectively responsible to Lower House | Enforces the collective responsibility of CoM to Lower House |
| It consist of 60 to 70 ministers | Smaller body consisting of 15 -20 ministers |
- In short Cabinet is subset of CoM.
- The council of ministers are headed by PM
- Article 74 & 75 of the Constitution deals with the CoM status, appointment, tenure, responsibility, qualification, oath etc.
- Article 352 determine the cabinet saying that – ‘The council of minister consisting of the prime minister and Article 75 deals with the appointment other ministers of cabinet . It doesn’t describe its powers and functions.
CURRENT COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
- 30 Cabinet Ministers, 45 Ministers of State, and 2 Ministers of State (Independent Charge)
- Reshuffling creates a chance to make, abolish or rename any ministerial posts and re-assign its responsibilities among departments ministerial posts. Like creation of new ‘Ministry of Cooperation’ to supply more heft to the cooperative movement within the country
- The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, within the CoM shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha
- Provision was added in 91st Amendment Act of 2003.
RESPONISBILITIES OF MINISTERS
- Article 75 clearly states that the CoM is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.This means that all the ministers own joint responsibility to the Lok Sabha for all their acts of omission and commission.
- Article 75 signifies that individual authority/duty is such that it states that ministers holds the position/office till the pleasure of the President, which also suggests thats the President can remove a minister at any instinct of time evenafter the CoM are in majority and enjoys ,confidence in Lower house(Lok Sabha).
- And the President removes a minister only on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
CURRENT SENARIO & CONCLUSION
- After 2019 General Election it’s the first big primary reshuffle of Cabinet and therefore the names are fell upon after much distillation and confabulations, observing 2022 election scenario with five states, including Uttar Pradesh headed for polls.
- Since April, within the rise of second Covid-19 wave hit the country, which lead to trouble of 12 ministers, particularly those at the senior & head of ministries, which brought criticism to the govt. within the mid of this year ..
- Women representation is highest in the last 17 years i.e. 11 women ministers in New Cabinet.
Sources :-
* National Portal of India(NPI)
* Press Information Bureau(PIB)
* Wikipedia