New Delhi: Is the Ministry of External Affairs jinxed? A lot of people have been asking the same question after the latest Lalit Modi controversy hit External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, because no Foreign Affairs minister could complete his or her full term in the office since its inception.
The External Affairs Ministry was founded in 1946, a few months before India got Independence from the British. The first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru kept the portfolio with himself till his death in 1964.
After that, in the last 50 years, the MEA has seen almost 30 Cabinet ministers. But, no Cabinet minister was able to complete his or her full term in office. Many lost the coveted seat due to political reasons.
Under Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi’s Prime Ministership, changing ministers regularly was the most common thing. A minister would lose his or her post at the drop of a hat.
During post Indira–Rajiv era, since 1991, India has seen 15 Foreign Affairs ministers, of which only three – Pranab Mukherjee, Jaswant Singh and S M Krishna – could complete more than three years in office.
In 2005, the then Foreign Affairs minister, Natwar Singh, was forced to quit after his name appeared in the Volcker scam. SM Krishna was unceremoniously sacked in October 2012 by the Congress high command. No reason was given for his removal.
His successor, Salman Khurshid, faced an NGO scam. Though Khurshid was accused of misappropriating an NGO fund, he managed to save his post till the 2014 General Elections.
Minister of State Shashi Tharoor had to quit the ministry in the wake of the IPL franchise scam in early 2010. E Ahamad, another Minister of State, was accused of Haj scam and he was made a minister of state for Railways during the initial months of UPA-2. Later he managed to return to the MEA.
Between 1991 and 1996, the then Prime Minister P V Narasimharao had three External Affairs Ministers. During her 15 years of rule, Indira Gandhi had five foreign affairs ministers. Later, Rajiv Gandhi changed his External Affairs ministers six times during his five-year tenure.
Some even joke that the Vaastu of Foreign Affairs Minister’s office (South Block on Raisina Hill) has serious flaws and unless the government changes it, there will be no stability or peace. It certainly provides food for thought!
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