Eleven out of the 12 new entrants into the Union council of ministers are staunch Indira loyalists. Surely, this cannot be the sole reason for their appointment. But it cannot be a mere accident that as many as 11 out of the 12 new appointees are men and women who had stood by Mrs. Indira Gandhi after the second Congress split in 1978 when she was out of office and facing persecution at the hands of the Janata government. Two points are notable in this connection. First, the cabinet expansion comes in the wake of disciplinary action against Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. A.P. Sharma and Mr. Prakash Mehrotra who were apparently trying to stir up an agitation against Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership in the Congress party partly on the plea that he had ignored Indira loyalists. Mr. Kamlapati Tripathi, who functioned as the nominal, if not effective, leader of this group of dissidents, pressed this point home after the disciplinary action. He said that while he convened the session which had led to the formation of the Congress (I) in 1978 and while he proposed that Mrs. Gandhi take over as its president, Mr. Sharma and Mr. Mehrotra were actively involved in this effort. In plain terms, he argued that it was extraordinary that Mr. Gandhi was accusing the very founders of the Congress (I) of anti-party activities. Secondly, the only cabinet minister to be dropped unceremoniously was not an Indira loyalist. This is not to say for certain that Mr. Gandhi has dismissed Mr. Bhagat wholly or largely for that reason. Indeed, we do not know why the Prime Minister has singled Mr. Bhagat out for such harsh treatment. Even so, the coincidence is interesting. We also do not know when in fact Mr. Gandhi decided to expand his ministry. But even if he had settled for expansion before the disciplinary action, it does appear that the selection has been influenced by the need to contain a possible challenge by aggrieved Indira loyalists.
As it happens, the promotion of Indira activists has followed the rehabilitation of another Indira loyalist in another sphere. Mr. G. Parthasarathy, Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s trouble-shooter both at home and abroad, had, it is common knowledge, been effectively sidelined, so much so that this extraordinarily patient man wrote a letter to the Prime Minister early this year expressing a desire to retire. And he now heads the powerful advisory panel which includes, among others, Mr. Arun Nehru and Mr. Arun Singh. The Prime Minister has also had meetings with two of Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s top advisers who live in retirement in Delhi, Mr. P.N. Haksar and Mr. P.N. Dhar. All this would not justify the conclusion that Mr. Rajiv Gandhi has come full circle. But gone clearly are the days when his admirers could claim with good reason that he was distancing himself from his mother and blazing a new trail in both domestic and foreign affairs. Instead, he appears to be keen to be seen to be following in her footsteps. The visit to frontline states in Africa, that is countries facing the fury of the racist regime in Pretoria, underlines the same point.