The search for a full-time Defence Minister is on, at a war footing. Names of Arun Jaitley and Sushil Kumar Modi are doing the rounds in the top echelons of power.
A top source in the government told Newsd that shifting Arun Jaitley as a full time Defence Minister and promoting Piyush Goyal as the Finance Minister is a possibility under active consideration. “The only challenge in implementing this formula is about impact on GST implementation which is the top most priority for the government today. We obviously want the most experienced hand in the government to oversee it”, a senior BJP leader told Newsd.
Sushil Modi, one of the senior most leaders of the BJP in Bihar, was understood to be out of favor with the Modi-Shah duo following the Bihar debacle. “All these are rumours, Sushil ji is one of our senior most leaders and there is no reason why he won’t find a place in the government”, the source said.
The position of a full-time Defence Minister has been lying vacant since Manohar Parikkar moved as Goa CM in March this year. The government has received a lot of flak because of this in recent times mainly in the backdrop of increasing tensions around the borders. Earlier names of Devendra Fandavis, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and Vasundhara Raje Scindia were also reported by sections of the media for being in the reckoning for the south block.
The position of a full-time Defence Minister has been lying vacant since Manohar Parrikar moved as Goa CM in March this year.
