From the PM to the King: How the Cabinet reshuffle helped Modi

Modi is the King now. Don’t be surprised. He holds the title of the Prime Minister. But he wields so much unbridled power that he is virtually no less than a king. Modi has always had the dream to have power that none could question him. Indeed, the Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday has put him in a position where no one can even raise a finger in Modi’s presence. He no longer shares power with anybody in his council of ministers. Rather he himself is the source of power for his ministers.

Power sharing is the basic principle of the parliamentary system of governance wherein the Prime Minister and his council of ministers take a decision with consensus. A Prime Minister is therefore called the first among equals in the parliamentary system which India has adopted right from its inception as a free nation.

This system ensures check upon a Prime Minister from turning an autocrat because ministers act upon him/her as a balancing force. They work in the interest of the region they represent. This, in turn, puts a democratic pressure on a Prime Minister while taking a decision.

But Modi is not the one to bear any restrictions when it comes to exercising power. He is temperamentally an autocrat. He is essentially a narcissist who is deeply impressed with himself. He not just believes himself to be destined to change the destiny of ‘1.5 billion Indians’. But he is also convinced that he alone can serve the country the best. This pattern of thinking is very much anti-democratic and such charecters always transform into an autocrat.

Narendra Modi has often said about himself that he left his “family for the country”. The country is supreme for him and even over and above his own family. It is also the RSS belief. No RSS functionary can have a family. Modi was so impressed with the RSS that he left behind his bride and never went back to his family. He ‘devoted’ his life to the country, as he himself claims.

So, Modi’s idea of India is based on the Sangh’s idea of the country which, in turn, is Hindu Rashtra. It very much reflects in Modi’s style of governance right from the Gujarat riots to mob lynching of minorities. A Hindu Rashtra is not feasible within a democratic system because in such a system, decision-making to be democratic. So, Modi’s worry was how to turn the system upside down to wield unbridled power to construct a “new India” of his ideas!

Modi ultimately found a way out through the Cabinet reshuffle that has virtually turned him into a king. Modi was one among equals when he was sworn in as the Prime Minister in 2104. Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley were not only senior to Modi but they were seasoned Delhi power circuit players. BJP stalwarts could have overshadowed Modi the novice in Delhi.

Modi, therefore, ensured to convey through media leaks right after he formed his first council of ministers that he is the boss in his Cabinet while the rest are jokers in a pack of cards. Remember, how information was leaked that Rajnath Singh was not permitted to select his own personal staff. Or how Prakash Javedkar was scolded by the Prime Minister for wearing jeans on his way to the airport. It was all on purpose and the purpose was to convey: ‘I am the king’.

The PMO right from the beginning drops hints that Sushma Swaraj might be the Foreign Minister but foreign affairs’ decision-making rests with the Prime Minister. Similarly, Gadkari could be senior to Modi but he has had no say in the choice of his own home state Maharashtra’s Chief Minister. Naidu had a loud mouth which irritated Modi so much that he dumped him in the office of the Vice-President of India. Now, protocol restricts him from speaking his mind out.

Arun Jaitley was given a bit of a leeway only because he was the only articulate minister who could respond to the Opposition charges on the floor of the Parliament. Yet, Jaitley is said to have no say in mega economic decisions like demonetisation and the GST reforms.

The long and short of the Modi story is that he has been the first and the last in his council of ministers right from the word go. He never had faith in the principle of first among equals as practised in a parliamentary system. Therefore, he has made it a practice to personally interact with the secretary of a ministry superseding the minister in charge. Don’t you think these are traits of a king?

Whatever hitch remained is now cleared by the recent round of Cabinet reshuffle. Juniors like Piyush Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will now be the loud voices of the Prime Minister in Modi’s council of ministers. Nirmala Sitharaman, as the Defence Minister, will speak for the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Committee on Security.

So, all tiers of the power structure have been packed with yes men who would voice only what the Prime Minister wants to hear. Does it leave any scope for power-sharing, the basic principle of the council of ministers in a parliamentary system?

Well, isn’t Modi the King, now?