The entrustment of foreign affairs to the 72-year-old Mukherjee reflects his centrality to Manmohan Singh’s dispensation.
NEW DELHI: Pranab Mukherjee was named the UPA government’s new foreign minister on Tuesday. His place in the defence ministry has been taken by the ‘Mr Clean’ of the Congress, AK Antony, former chief minister of Kerala.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also effected a minor reshuffle in his Council of Ministers, moving Oscar Fernandes to the labour ministry. Fernandes occupies the position left vacant by the resignation of K Chandrasekhar Rao, president of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti.
The entrustment of foreign affairs to the 72-year-old Mukherjee reflects his centrality to Manmohan Singh’s dispensation. The two leaders share an excellent rapport, and also a similar world view. Mukherjee is by far the most senior and experienced politician among Singh’s ministers. The PM has been relying on him to handle most of the sensitive issues confronting the government.
Mukherjee was initially reluctant to move to the new ministry but was persuaded by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the PM. Both are said to have made it clear to Mukherjee that his pre-eminence in the government would remain unchanged.
Mukherjee has had a substantial role to play in cementing Indo-US ties. Before the PM’s visit to the US in June last year, he visited Washington to sign a defence cooperation agreement. The pact signalled India’s willingness to cooperate with the US.
Mukherjee’s appointment is likely to change the ministry’s functioning. Till now, foreign policy was dictated by the PM’s office, especially by National Security Adviser MK Narayanan. Given Mukherjee’s stature, it is unlikely that he will allow himself to be dictated to.
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