In a meeting called by the RSS in Vrindavan last Saturday attended by BJP President Amit Shah, Sangh leaders took Modi government and its economic policies to task, opening eyes of both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Sangh was especially worried about reducing job opportunities. Under these circumstances, it was but natural for them to recall Kamaraj Plan. That is why the recent Cabinet reshuffle is being called Kamaraj Plan.
The original plan was initiated in 1963 by the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru on the advice of then chief minister of Madras province, Kumaraswami Kamaraj, by effecting a massive cabinet reshuffle. It was in the aftermath of the loss we suffered in the war against China in 1962 and Nehru Government’s foreign policy was being questioned. Then finance minister Morarji Desai had imposed heavy taxes to overcome the losses suffered during the war. People were obviously angry with the Government.
This had resulted in Congress losing three Lok Sabha by polls in 1963 as three prominent opposition leaders Ram Manohar Lohia, J.B. Kripalani and Minoo Masani entered the hallowed precincts of the Parliament. This was enough to infuriate Nehru.
In such a scenario, one of the most popular chief ministers Kamaraj convinced Nehru that all senior ministers should resign from their post and work for the organization, to regain people’s confidence. Kamaraj himself voluntarily resigned from the post. He was followed by six Cabinet ministers including Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai and Jagjivan Ram. Five chief ministers of Congress ruled states too resigned. These included Biju Patnaik, SK Patil besides Kamaraj himself.
Like them, Modi too wants to send out a message from his cabinet rejig that there is no place for inefficient and corrupt people in his cabinet. A senior minister of his cabinet has been shown the door because he was facing allegations of a scam worth hundreds of crores. People like Rajiv Pratap Rudy were unable to come out of his page-3 type image while Uma Bharti wasn’t interested in cleaning Ganga. Sanjeev Balyan too was unable to prove his mettle while services of people like Bandaru Dattatreya and Nirmala Sitharaman were needed in improving party’s prospects down South. Sitharaman was born in Tamil Nadu and is married to an Andhraite, which is why BJP seems keen on betting on her to make a mark South of Vindhyas.