Irrelevant Manoeuvres AS far as the nation is concerned, the reshuffle of the cabinet by a beleaguered prime minister, desperately anxious to retain his throne, hardly advances matters. The revamped council of ministers has the appearance of a patchwork quilt; it can however provide little warmth or comfort to the nation. P V Narasimha Rao is surviving as prime minister because the Congress party is frozen with fear at the prospect of a fresh poll and also because there is no obvious alternative personality who could command the united support of the party MPs. It is not exactly a case of a prime minister and his party encountering a little local difficulty. It is their capability to govern which is the basic issue. The party itself is perhaps not too far from this self- realisation. In this hour of strain, every dog in the party is having his day. There is representation in the council of ministers of even No 10 Janpath.