New Delhi: Following the resignations of former Union health minister, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram took a swipe at the Modi government for its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chidambaram tweeted about an inherent "lesson" for ministers in these resignations. According to him, if things go right the credit will go to the PM, and if things go wrong the Minister will be the fall guy. He added that this is the price a Minister pays for implicit obedience and unquestioning subservience.
There is a lesson for ministers in these resignations. If things go right the credit will go to the PM, if things go wrong the Minister will be the fall guy.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 7, 2021
That is the price a Minister pays for implicit obedience and unquestioning subservience.
"The resignations of the Union health minister and the MoS Health is a candid confession that the Modi government has utterly failed in managing the pandemic," Chidambaram wrote on Twitter.
The resignations of the Union Health Minister and the MoS Health is a candid confession that the Modi government has utterly failed in managing the pandemic
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 7, 2021
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's health minister who retained his position even in the second term of his government, was among the first to step down today along with his deputy Ashwani Chaube.
Mr Chidambaram lost no time in commenting that it was a "confession" about his handling of the Covid pandemic.
Another senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted that the National Disaster Management Authority is responsible for criminal mismanagement of COVID19.
Another former Union minister of the Congress, Jairam Ramesh, tweeted, that Vardhan, a good man has been made a scapegoat for monumental failures at the highest level.
As the evening progressed, Ravi Shankar Prasad who was in charge of Electronics, IT and law ministries, Prakash Javadekar, who handled the crucial Information & Broadcasting ministry, and Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' also stepped down.
He also pointed to the resignations of the Union education minister and the minister of state, education, and said that the national education policy (NEP) "should be shown the exit door."
"If the Union Education Minister and his MoS are asked to resign, what does it say about the New Education Policy that was unveiled with great fanfare? The NEP has been criticised by States, political parties, educationists, teachers, academics and scholars," Mr Chidambaram, tweeted.
Besides the three, others who had to exit the government ahead of today's reshuffle included DV Sadananda Gowda, Thawarchand Gehlot who was named Governor, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Babul Supriyo, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Rattan Lal Kataria and Pratap Chandra Sarangi.
Thirty-six new ministers are taking oath today, which will bring the total of PM Modi's council of ministers to 77.