China News Service, Beijing, July 8. News from New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted a large-scale reorganization of the cabinet on the 7th local time, in which the Minister of Health and others were replaced.
Earlier on the 7th, 12 ministers including Indian Minister of Health Vardan and Minister of Chemical Industry and Fertilizer Gundam announced their resignations. Indian President Kovind accepted their resignations.
Local media believe that Vardan is a "scapegoat" for the government that has been criticized for its ineffective response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
Modi subsequently carried out a large-scale reorganization of the cabinet: Mandavia became Minister of Health and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Riguizhu became Minister of Justice, Sindia became Minister of Civil Aviation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaishan Su and Minister of Defense Singh remained in their original positions.
According to the "Times of India" report, with the swearing-in of 15 new cabinet ministers and 28 new state ministers, the number of Indian cabinet members reached 78 (52 before the reorganization).
This is Modi's largest cabinet reorganization since he took office in 2014, and it is also his first reorganization since he started his second term in 2019.
It is worth noting that the cabinet after the reorganization had 11 female members, while before the reorganization, the cabinet had only 5 female members.
New Delhi TV reported that Modi has always advocated the concept of "minimize government and maximize governance".
However, this idea is under pressure in the specific administration, and the increasing number of members of the Indian cabinet also runs counter to this idea.
External analysis said that Modi's move to reshuffle the cabinet was also to enhance the Bharatiya Janata Party's advantage in local elections in the future.
Important states such as Uttar Pradesh are about to usher in elections.
After the cabinet is reorganized, the Bharatiya Janata Party can introduce the caste background of some new cabinet members in detail. It can also emphasize the increase of female cabinet members in order to win the favor of voters.
According to the analysis, in general, under pressure from the new crown pneumonia epidemic, soaring prices, and months of protests from farmers, Modi's large-scale cabinet reorganization may increase the government's popularity.
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