India Appoints New Ministers of Health, Information Technology and Petroleum in the Coronavirus Crisis | Coronavirus Pandemic News

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed a new Federal Minister of Health, Information Technology and Petroleum as part of a reorganization aimed at reshaping its government’s image as its response to the coronavirus pandemic has been affected. Strongly criticized.

Modi appointed Mansuk Laxman Mandavia as the country’s new Minister of Health. Just a few hours later, Harsh Vardhan, the spokesperson for the government’s response to COVID-19, was asked to speak with him. The deputy stepped down together.

Official sources said Vardan had to pay the political price for the government’s efforts to deal with the devastating second wave of coronavirus infections.

The Modi government was severely criticized for the chaotic development of the nationwide immunization campaign. Experts said the campaign exacerbated the impact of the second wave, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

The official death toll after the surge in COVID-19 infections in April and May Over 400,000 in the last week.

More than half of the reported deaths (ranked third among all countries) occurred in the past two months as the Delta variant of the virus swept the country and overwhelmed an already strained healthcare system.

Experts believe that the actual number may be much higher, and people worry that a third wave will soon appear. Millions of people are still not vaccinated.

Mandaviya belongs to Modi’s hometown of Gujarat. He was a junior minister and was responsible for the port, chemicals and fertilizer portfolio.

“Buck actually stopped with PM”

Opposition leader P Chidambaram said that the removal of the Minister of Health and his deputies was an acknowledgment of the Modi government’s failure to control the pandemic, but Modi should be held responsible.

“These resignations are a lesson for ministers. If things go well, the credit will go to the prime minister, and if things go wrong, the minister will be the one to fall,” he said.

The reorganization was also carried out after Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed in the April elections in the key state of West Bengal.

“If it’s really about poor management of COVID-19, [Vardhan] Alone? Absolutely not,” said Riccio M. John, a health economist and professor at the Rajagiri School of Social Sciences in the southern city of Kochi, on Twitter.

“The buck actually stops at the Prime Minister himself,” John said.

I congratulate all my colleagues who took the oath today and wish them all the best in their term as ministers. We will continue to work hard to realize the aspirations of the people and build a strong and prosperous India. #Govt4Growth pic.twitter.com/AVz9vL77bO

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 7, 2021

On Wednesday, President Ram Nath Kovind (Ram Nath Kovind) was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, with 15 cabinet ministers and 28 junior ministers.

They replaced 12 ministers, and since the re-election in 2019 in 2019, the promise of re-election in 2019 transformed India into political and economic power, thus replacing 12 ministers.

Eight junior ministers were promoted to cabinet level.

Modi retained the Minister of Interior Amit Shah, Minister of Defense Rajnat Singh, Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitalaman, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Subramanyam Jashankar.

IT minister fired in tweet quarrel

Modi appointed Ashwini Vashner as the new Minister of Information and Technology after he fired Ravi Shankar Prasad while he was under the leadership of the government. Try to persuade The American social media giant abides by the country’s laws.

No reason for Prasad’s dismissal was provided, although industry sources familiar with the ideas of Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter expected them to welcome the changes in the ministry.

“Reset is always helpful,” the source said. “So far, there seems to be a lack of dialogue.”

With high fuel prices, Hardeep Singh Puri was appointed as Minister of Petroleum to succeed Dharmendra Pradhan.

Modi also dismissed Prakash Javadkar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, who was also a government spokesperson.

Although the economy is in a severe recession, and there is widespread concern that the surge in COVID-19 infections will hinder the economic recovery, he still remains in the core team of the foreign affairs, finance, internal affairs and defense departments.

Political commentator Rasheed Kidwai said: “The bigger impact is that the second wave of COVID-19 has shaken the confidence of the Modi government.” “Modi is trying to introduce a new work culture through these changes.”

In February and March next year, Modi will face another major test of his reputation in the state elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand, which may become his party. A weather vane in the 2024 national elections.