Evaluation for ministers

Railway minister DV Sadananda Gowda inability to dedicate sufficient time to his ministry was ‘eye-catching’ for seniors in the government. The pace of key infrastructure development projects in Gowda’s ministry too had left many in the government unimpressed. His place will now be taken by Suresh Prabhu, who has been praised for his administrative skills.

Similarly, tourism and hospitality minister Shripad Yesso Naik’s ‘frequent and prolonged absence’ cost him his job, especially since the Prime Minister has been keen on kick-starting the sector.

Claiming it recognises the role tourism and hospitality can play as a foreign exchange earner and its ability to create millions of jobs every year, BJP had said in its manifesto that the tourism sector needs a clear plan for growth. It had also committed itself to initiate a mission mode project to create 50 tourist circuits that are affordable and built around different themes. None made any headway.

Naik has now been replaced by Mahesh Sharma.

Former army chief gen (rtd) VK Singh, who was made MoS with independent change of development of north eastern region (DONER), also failed to live up the PM’s expectation to give development in North East a big push. The party, which has negligible presence outside Assam, considers North East as a fertile ground to reap political harvest.

The portfolio has since been taken away from Singh and replaced by Jitendra Singh.