Sonia shows the door to Manmohan’s men
11 May 2013 7:21 AM IST
Beleaguered Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar resigned from the Union Cabinet on Friday evening, following allegations of corrupt practices. While Bansal has been facing bribery charges following the arrest of his nephew Vijay Singla by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Ashwani Kumar has been under fire for tweaking the agency’s status report to be submitted before the Supreme Court on probe into the coal block allotment scam.
Millennium Post was the first newspaper to report that the CBI had proof of Bansal’s direct involvement in note-for-post scam in its front-page report on 6 May with the headline ‘CBI has evidence against Bansal too’ Sources say Bansal and Kumar resigned after Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue. While the Congress Party earlier in the day had made it clear that it will not stand by Bansal, there was some confusion over Kumar’s status with some claiming that he may escape with a lesser punishment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is seen as mentor of Kumar, is also believed to have batted for him saying that the ‘matter was subjudice’.
This, however, did not cut ice with the Congress president, who maintained that the party, after a resounding victory in Karnataka, should not lose the opportunity to get rid of the corruption taint it has been facing for sometime.
Sources say the decision to ask Bansal and Kumar to resign was taken after the CBI got evidence that suspended Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar had met Bansal on 21 April and on 2 May he was made Member (Electrical) in the Railway Board even though he was a Signals Member.
Kumar had to sign the exit papers as the Supreme Court was rather sharp in its criticism of the way the Law Minister tried to manipulate the report. Both the CBI director and the government’s top law officer, attorney general Ghulam Vahanavati, put the blame at the minister’s door for the attempt to manipulate the report.
With Bansal’s exit, speculation was rife that Labour Minister, Mallikarjun Kharge, could be appointed as the next Railway minister. Kharge was one of the contenders for the post of chief minister of Karnataka and in a bid to appease him he could be given the Railways portfolio. According to sources, a cabinet reshuffle is also on the cards. Congress President and the Prime Minister will meet on Sunday to discuss the issue.
Though the BJP welcomed the decision of resignation by ministers, the party said that if it could have happened earlier then Budget session would not have been washed out.
‘High posts in the railway board are being sold in which the minister’s family is involved. I think the Rail minister’s resignation has been taken under pressure because of the evidence in the media,’ said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Millennium Post was the first newspaper to report that the CBI had proof of Bansal’s direct involvement in note-for-post scam in its front-page report on 6 May with the headline ‘CBI has evidence against Bansal too’ Sources say Bansal and Kumar resigned after Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue. While the Congress Party earlier in the day had made it clear that it will not stand by Bansal, there was some confusion over Kumar’s status with some claiming that he may escape with a lesser punishment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is seen as mentor of Kumar, is also believed to have batted for him saying that the ‘matter was subjudice’.
This, however, did not cut ice with the Congress president, who maintained that the party, after a resounding victory in Karnataka, should not lose the opportunity to get rid of the corruption taint it has been facing for sometime.
Sources say the decision to ask Bansal and Kumar to resign was taken after the CBI got evidence that suspended Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar had met Bansal on 21 April and on 2 May he was made Member (Electrical) in the Railway Board even though he was a Signals Member.
Kumar had to sign the exit papers as the Supreme Court was rather sharp in its criticism of the way the Law Minister tried to manipulate the report. Both the CBI director and the government’s top law officer, attorney general Ghulam Vahanavati, put the blame at the minister’s door for the attempt to manipulate the report.
With Bansal’s exit, speculation was rife that Labour Minister, Mallikarjun Kharge, could be appointed as the next Railway minister. Kharge was one of the contenders for the post of chief minister of Karnataka and in a bid to appease him he could be given the Railways portfolio. According to sources, a cabinet reshuffle is also on the cards. Congress President and the Prime Minister will meet on Sunday to discuss the issue.
Though the BJP welcomed the decision of resignation by ministers, the party said that if it could have happened earlier then Budget session would not have been washed out.
‘High posts in the railway board are being sold in which the minister’s family is involved. I think the Rail minister’s resignation has been taken under pressure because of the evidence in the media,’ said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
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