As Ashwani Kumar becomes the new law minister in the UPA Government, it creates a record of sorts for the Ministry which has till now been shuffled thrice. After Hansraj Bhardwaj who served as the Law Minister in UPA I, the Congress-led government in its second term has changed the Law Minister thrice - from Veerappa Moily to the present decision of appointing Kumar.
Kumar, who has been elevated and given Cabinet rank in the rejig was earlier holding rank of Minister of State for the Ministries of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, and Planning. He comes in place of Salman Khursheed, who was at the helm of affairs in the ministry of Law and Justice for over a year now. Khursheed moved to the Ministry of External Affairs in Sunday’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Veerappa Moily was initially the Law Minister in the Government’s second term and had to go after the Government found itself losing ground in the Supreme Court in several high-voltage cases, like the 2G scam.
After being sworn in as the Law Minister, Kumar appeared quite clear in his agenda. Stressing that the need of the hour is to reduce delays in the justice delivery system along with restoring the delicate balance in different organs of the government, he said, “We need to cut delays in the justice delivery system. But it is highly important to restore the fine balance between different organs of government.”
Kumar who is a RS MP from Punjab, rightly reflected on the importance of his new role and the new portfolio. “The Law and Justice Ministry should give the Government sound legal advice in a timely manner so that key policy initiatives of the government whether they relate to the ministry or governance are not held back unnecessarily.”
He also underlined the need to restore the Constitutional discipline. “The Constitutional spirit and its discipline must be imbibed across the border. I believe we will need to bring in a bit of Constitutional discipline in the manner in which the Law Ministry is expected to be the pivot for harmonizing various jurisdictions within the government.”
The minister’s words seems to be echoing huge trust reposed in him by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in handing him an important portfolio which was resisted by many within the Congress party, till Saturday evening.