New Delhi, Jul 6: Two years can be a long time in politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised many, both within BJP and outside, when he appointed Smriti Zubin Irani his Human Resources Development minister. It was seen as more than recognition of the spunk the former TV star showed as BJP spokesperson when she would gamely take on detractors of the then Gujarat chief minister or the scare she gave Congress scion Rahul Gandhi on his home turf of Amethi in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The choice, which raised eyebrows because of Irani's 'degree deficit', was seen as the launchpad for a big political career. The government's staunch defence of the feisty Irani whenever she was under attack from political opponents only reinforced the estimate that she could be headed for an even bigger role.
Her aggression over contentious issues, most notably the one over the confrontation in Jawaharlal Nehru University, and combativeness towards leading members of the "secular commentariat", only enhanced her stock within the Sangh Parivar as a whole, and even sparked speculation that she could be projected as BJP's choice for UP chief minister.
However, if the pace with which she covered the distance from being an "outsider" to an A-lister was stunning, her sudden shift to the textiles ministry points to an equally sudden demotion, at least in the near run.
The loss of heft is striking, especially given the profile Irani had acquired, with her admirers wasting no opportunity to emphasise her arrival in the power league. But while the reversal of trajectory seems abrupt, government watchers feel it was the result of developments which panned out over a period of time with the powerful HRD minister often coming off as inflexible.
The aggression that was on display for opponents would often manifest within the party and government too, with Irani and her supporters interpreting even well-intentioned advice and suggestions as condescending interference, and, worse, signs of insecurity of greying colleagues. Though Irani kept her lines open with sections within the Parivar, there were complaints of lack of coordination between her ministry and the party.
Officials would often prefer to dodge her, with a few choosing to leave the ministry. Irani would zealously guard her turf on purely ministerial matters, at times a bit too much, and even at the cost of the speed with which the Prime Minister wanted the ministry to move.
In the last few months, the HRD ministry and Niti Aayog were locked in a bitter battle about issues like accreditation and other issues. Irani saw it as interference and made it clear to senior Aayog officials. For some reason, may be to win the Sangh's support, Irani had turned dead against the private sector. So much so that when she agreed to make deemed university regulations less stringent, the buzz was that it could be because of pressure from a powerful education lobby close to BJP.
The IIM bill remains in limbo because of a long standing fracas with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The HRD ministry's take was that the government needed to have some say in running of IIMs, just the way it is the case with IITs but the PMO had other ideas.
In the last few months, Irani was consciously trying to turn a new leaf by being amiable, but her temperamental nature had already done enough damage. From ministry officials, many of whom were unceremoniously removed, and others who were given low grades in annual confidential reports to VCs who got her tongue lashing, Irani created enough detractors.
The government was riding high on the education policy but the view in the government was that instead of debate, the HRD ministry got into scraps with the committee members. The matter was even taken up with Prime Minister Modi.
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