Smriti Irani loses HRD ministry as work gets preference over controversy

New Delhi: On Tuesday, Smriti Irani was relieved of her charge as HRD Minister and moved to the relatively low profile textiles ministry. In her place, Prakash Javadekar took charge of the HRD ministry.

This is being seen as a major snub to Irani, who was appointed to the post of HRD Minister despite reservations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 2014. Irani, who is said to be close to Modi, enjoyed the Prime Minister’s confidence in 2014.

But the controversies that followed seem to have eroded Modi’s faith in Irani.

Read: #ByeByeSmriti trends: Twitter trolls Irani after Modi drops her from HRD ministry

From the Jawaharlal Nehru University fiasco and the mishandling of the University of Hyderabad issue, Rohith Vemula’s death to Irani’s fierce exchanges with the Opposition in Parliament, the minister’s tenor does not seem to have found favour with the RSS.

The RSS is said to have had a role in the removal of the HRD Minister from her post. Before the Cabinet portfolios were allocated on Tuesday, Modi had repeated meetings with Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. BJP President Shah had reportedly reached out to the RSS for their inputs.

As for Javadekar, the now-former Environment Minister has created a positive impression on both Modi and RSS. He is credited with making industry-friendly moves, carrying out the Swachh Bharat campaign in a mission mode and pursuing environment diplomacy on climate change at the international level.

Javadekar is also credited with bringing in the National and state Compensatory Afforestation Fund, and paving the way to unlocking nearly Rs 41,000 crore earmarked for forest land.

On the other hand, Irani was seen as hard to deal with not just by the Opposition, but even by RSS and affiliated groups both during formal and informal discussions.

On Tuesday, 19 new ministers were inducted into the Narendra Modi cabinet, and some major portfolios were reallocated.