- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
TWELVE ministers of the Narendra Modi government stepped down on Wednesday (7), hours before a mega cabinet shuffle and among them were Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. His resignation sparked a wild discussion on the social media as it came when India was still battling the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected more than 31 million Indians.
Harsh Vardhan, a doctor himself, was serving his second term as the health minister in the Modi government since May 2019. He had earlier served in the same post between May and November 2014 and was replaced by JP Nadda. Vardhan was sent to the ministry of science and technology.
Many had speculated then that it was Vardhan’s tough steps taken against the influential tobacco industry in the country had irked the tobacco lobbyists, including those in the prime minister’s home state Gujarat which is one of the main producers of the crop. Others felt that Vardhan was removed because he was one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s major face in Delhi which was going to polls in February 2015.
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Vardhan got the responsibility of the health ministry again after Modi returned to power in 2019 but this time too, the 66-year-old leader could not complete an entire term in office. The coronavirus pandemic proved to be a major challenge for him who also handles the earth sciences ministry besides that of science and technology.
A member of the Hindu-nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood, Vardhan faced a strong criticism from the opposition for his ministry’s handling of the pandemic even though prime minister Modi on several occasions praised his proactive role in fighting the outbreak.
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The former health minister, who was also elected in the World Health Organisation’s executive board, found himself at odds with various states of India and their ministers who slammed the Modi government’s vaccine policy.
Did Vardhan step down because of the pandemic challenge? Or was it just a routine move to make way for a fresh face?
Social media divided over Harsh Vardhan resignation
Senior journalist Barkha Dutt feels his removal proved the allegations that the pandemic was not handled efficiently. Dutt, who lost her father to the virus recently, said in a tweet: “Finally the acknowledgment that the pandemic was inefficiently handled as HarshVardhan resigns ahead of cabinet changes.”
Former Indian National Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha also said the same on Twitter. He said the health minister’s “apparent resignation” was the government’s “explicit public admission” that it completely mishandled the pandemic situation in India.
ThePrint’s contributing editor Shivam Vij, however, felt that blaming Vardhan for the pandemic mismanagement would be unfair. In a tweet, he said, “Unfair to blame Harsh Vardhan for Covid mismanagement. It’s not as if ministers run the country or its health policy. The country is run by PMO. Cabinet reshuffle is siginificant only in terms of the forthcoming assembly elections. It’s all about politics.”
Another senior journalist Vir Sanghvi said there was no point in sacking Vardhan now if at all it was for the Covid mismanagement. “If the PM believes that Harsh Vardhan handled the Pandemic badly he should have replaced him months ago when lives could have been saved. What’s the point sacking him now?” he asked. He also asked if Vardhan has indeed resigned, then on what basis was Dr V K Paul, an Indian paediatrician who is a member of the NITI Aayog, the public policy think-tank of the Indian government, still there. Sanghvi said people like Paul screwed up India’s vaccine strategy and had no business to continue in the job.
The resignation of Vardhan could bring Modi a tactical gain. By making the timing of his stepping down coincide with a mega cabinet reshuffle, Modi not only negated the opposition’s criticism but put across a message that he is not one who gives up under pressure but yet is accountable to the people of India.
