Akhilesh rewards youth, cuts some seniors to size
Ending a week-long anxious wait, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday allocated portfolios to 30 ministers and reallocated departments to some others, even as he retained important ministries like health, finance and home with himself.
Even after distributing departments to 12 new ministers, nine promoted and the nine who had been stripped of their portfolios, Yadav continues to have 53 departments with him.
Besides striking a balance in portfolio distribution, Yadav gave importance to the young brigade and cut to size some senior ministers by giving them less significant departments.
For instance senior minister Ahmad Hasan, who had medical and health portfolio till being divested of the charge in last Thursday’s ministry rejig, has now been given the less significant basic education department.
A Raj Bhawan communiqué announced the portfolio distribution by the chief minister.
Those whose portfolios were changed include cabinet minister Balram Yadav and minister of state (independent charge) Arun Kumari Kori. While Balram Yadav, who earlier had prisons department, now gets importance with the charge of secondary education, Kori retains only culture department with her. She has been divested of women welfare department that goes to new minister of state (independent charge) Syeda Shadab Fatima.
New entrant Balwant Singh Ramoowalia has been given charge of prisons.
The CM gave forest department to Durga Prasad Yadav, who till now held transport department. Another minister who has been given lesser important portfolio is Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias alias Raja Bhaiya, who gets stamps, court fees, registration and civil defence departments. Singh, till last week, held charge of food and civil supplies department that now goes to elevated minister Kamal Akhtar.
Awadhesh Prasad, who had social welfare, now gets lesser significant home guards and Prantiya Raksha Dal while Paras Nath Yadav, who had horticulture department, has been given rural engineering service.
Ram Govind Chaudhary, who held basic education department has been given social welfare, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe welfare besides ex-servicemen welfare departments.
Brahma Shankar Tripathi who held home guards and Prantiya Raksha Dal etc now becomes minister for khadi and village industry. Iqbal Mehmood has been given food and drug administration while Mehboob Ali gets sericulture and textiles.
Arvin Singh Gope’s rising stature is reflected in the fact that he has been allowed to retain charge of rural development department that he held as minister of state (independent charge).
Another promoted minister, Vinod Kumar Singh alias Pandit Singh, has been given agriculture, agriculture education and agriculture research. Singh has been given agriculture to strengthen the party in Gonda, where son of former agriculture minister Anand Singh had won as MP on a BJP ticket.
Saheb Singh Saini becomes minister for backward classes welfare and handicapped development that till now was held by senior party leader Ambika Chaudhary.
Among ministers of state (independent charge) Riyaz Ahmed has been given fisheries and public sector undertakings. Fareed Mahfooz Kidwai gets technical education while Mool Chandra Chauhan has been given food and horticulture processing.
Ram Sakal Gujjar gets sports and youth welfare while Nitin Agarwal got micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and export promotions. Yasser Shah has been given transport while Madan Chauhan got entertainment tax department.
Those allocated minister of state portfolios include Wasim Ahmad, who got child development and nutrition, basic education and energy departments; Shiv Pratap Yadav got zoological gardens and medical and health while Radhey Shyam Singh was given agriculture, agriculture education, agriculture research and medical education departments.
Shailendra Yadav Lalai got planning and energy while Onkar Singh was given rural development department. Tej Narain Pandey alias Pawan Pandey has been given forests while Sudhir Kumar Rawat got IT and electronics and medical and health departments. Hemraj Verma and Laxmikant alias Pappu Nishad have been given food and civil supplies departments. Banshidhar Bauddh has been given social welfare, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe welfare and ex-servicemen welfare departments.