Rajnath Singh added to six committees after controversial exclusion

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh was added to four of the eight committees of the Union cabinet on late Thursday evening, a day after the Cabinet Secretariat released the list of committees reconstituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the exercise reflecting the special stature granted to home minister Amit Shah, who was made part of all the eight panels.

The government's decision on Thursday night to induct Singh in most Cabinet committees came after it initially kept him out of all but two of them. The move came amid speculation that he was unhappy over not being given his due in the formation of the panels.

Singh is the de facto number two in the cabinet who was not part of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.

He was only part of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

Now Rajnath Singh has been made the member in six panels, one of which he is heading, according to a late evening release issued by the government.

It was the second list of cabinet committees issued by the Cabinet Secretariat in the last two days.

Significantly, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which makes appointments to key positions like Central Vigilance Commission and CBI Director, consists of only Modi and Shah.

Only two committees in which Singh's name does not figure are on the appointment, which has traditionally had only prime minister and home minister as members, and on accommodation, a relatively low-profile panel.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's name figured in all but one of the committees.

The government has reconstituted six committees to reflect the changes in the new dispensation and formed two new Cabinet panels to deal with issues like investment, growth, employment and skill development, amid concerns over an economic slowdown.

Cabinet ministers representing BJP's allies, including Ram Vilas Paswan, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Arvind Sawant, are members of a few committees, like in the first Modi government.