Amit Shah is arguably the second-most powerful man in India today. Not only is he the number two in Modi’s cabinet, Shah is the most powerf...
Amit Shah is arguably the second-most powerful man in India today. Not only is he the number two in Modi’s cabinet, Shah is the most powerful second-in-command in the history of the Union government. In addition to being home minister, Shah is a member of all eight cabinet committees. Shah has even chaired inter-ministerial meetings, unprecedented for a person who is not prime minister.
So powerful is Shah that it was he who piloted the Modi government’s most controversial move in its six years of office: revoking the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.
However, the past few months have seen Shah take an uncharacteristic backseat. In May, Shah released a public statement about his health in response to what he called “rumours” as well as “lakhs of party workers and well wishers expressing their concern”. “I want to make it clear that I am absolutely well and am not suffering from any disease,” Shah said in a tweet.
On August 2, Shah put out a statement that he had tested positive for Covid-19 and said he was being admitted to hospital. By August 14, Shah announced that he been got cured and tested negative. Within days, however, Shah was back in hospital for “post Covid care”....
