Shoring Up the Government

One of the major problems wth the BJP led government is the shortage of administrative experience and talent in the party. This aspect renders  the government  vulnerable to justifiable criticism that “rookie” ministers are tinkering blindly with policies which affect the nation as a whole at some stage. This has even led to the charge  that extremist ideologies are sought to be introduced through the backdoor.

India ia fortunate that apolitical expertise in every field is abundantly available and these  experts can be enlisted into the various ministries with MOS rank. Inviting them to join the Council of Ministers may not attract many experts as the need to be subsequently elected would be a disincentive. The “first time” ministers would have to be advised to seek guidance from the experts on professional matters before decisions are taken. There has to be a deliberate move under the PM’s supervision to train young ministers for the future.This is an area which should have the PM’s direct attention without which ego clashes will ruin the plan.

There is also the matter of the need to build up a “bench strength” of reserves capable of stepping into slots in the administration in an emergency or in the future. In order to quickly build up a “second eleven” young and bright MP’s  can be made Parliamentary Secretaries to the ministers so that they also share the new experience. Needless to say, I am only thinking of  pure government work without the influence of political interests at the cost of national ones.

The PM has a tremendous opportunity  to provide an alternative national party that can be trusted to govern justly and well. For this he has to mobilise talent and experience without interference of short-term temptations and desire for meaningless “brownie” points