3rd Sep 2017 09:09:PM Editorials
Eastern Sentinel Arunachal News

Until now woman politicians were heading Ministries which dealt with women and child issues or other departments which were perceived as ‘soft’. All this changed on Sunday, as the much-awaited Cabinet rejig of the Modi government saw the Nirmala Sitharaman anointed as India’s new Defence Minister. 58 year old, Sitharaman, is India’s first woman Defence Minister. Before this, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had held this post. 

Sitharaman has served as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance headed by Arun Jaitley and the Minister of Commerce and Industry with independent charge. She is a Rajya Sabha member and represents Karnataka in Parliament. 

Formerly a member of the National Commission for Women, Sitharaman has an MA degree in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She also has a PhD in the Indo-European textile trade within the GATT framework and MPhil. She had joined the BJP in 2006 even though her husband Dr Parakala Prabhakar had joined the Prajarajyam party floated by film star Chiranjeevi in 2007. It was during Nitin Gadkari’s tenure as BJP president that Nirmala Sitharaman was enlisted as one of the six party spokespersons in March 2010. In May 2016, Nirmala Sitharaman was sworn in as Minister of State (Independent Charge). 

While the opposition Congress is harping that Sitharaman has no experience to handle the Defence Ministry, common citizens especially women would beg to differ on the stance of a party that is projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate. 

Although her selection came as a bit of a surprise as Nitin Gadkari’s name was recently speculated for the post. To her credit, Sitharaman has been known to deliver and is an extremely effective spokesperson of the BJP. Therefore, her elevation is not just symbolic but well deserved.

 With Sushma Swaraj as External Affairs Minister, the two together make up half of the all-powerful Cabinet Committee on Security. Indira Gandhi held the portfolio as Prime Minister, so Sitharaman is the first woman Defence Minister, rather path-breaking from a party considered to be patriarchal.

 

 


Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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