By Nora Chopra
The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has yet again denied reports highlighting differences between the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and himself. But, whatever Manmohan Singh may claim, there are solid questions to disprove his present statement. Will the Prime Minister answer why he did not accept the Lokpal Bill recommended by the Sonia-led NAC, especially, if the NAC had a bill ready, then why was it not implemented? Why did he not consult the party when he sent four cabinet ministers to meet Baba Ramdev? Janardhan Diwedi is on record saying that the act did not have the party’s consent. What problem did he have with the food security bill of the NAC? Again, on the Maoists, the Party and the government adopted two separate views. Is it not correct that the party wanted Kapil Sibal out of the HRD? Is it not correct that he did not take the Congress President into confidence, when he said in the Burari session that he was ready to appear before the PAC or any other Parliamentary committee? Is it not true that he wants to remove Pranab Mukherjee from Finance upon pressure from the Industry, but the Congress President is not supporting him in this regard as well?
Confusion over Cabinet reshuffle
The delay in the cabinet reshuffle is being caused because of the lack of consensus on the top four cabinet ministers, viz., SM Krishna, P Chidambaram, AK Antony and Pranab Mukherjee. Manmohan Singh is in a dilemma over what to do and how to go about it. There is pressure from within the political spectrum that Chidambaram should be moved out of Home portfolio, yet it is not clear where exactly should be be shifted. If he goes to External Affairs, SM Krishna is left in a lurch. The PM is also under pressure from the industry to move Pranab Mukherjee out of Finance, as the business fraternity thinks he is too conservative. However, Sonia is not willing to replace him, and he was chosen particularly because of his quasi-socialist approach. The PM wants to bring HR Bhardwaj back as Law minister. He is keen to drop nonperforming ministers like BK Handique, Murli Deora, Vilas Rao Deshmukh and CP Joshi. Dayanidhi Maran is sure to be dropped, and will be replaced by two DMK ministers. The names of TR Baalu, the DMK spokesperson Elengovan and the AK Vijayan, who is a Dalit like A Raja, are doing the rounds Nevertheless, the PM, it seems, is reluctant in taking on Baalu. As for Trinamool Congress, the PM has refused to elevate Mukul Roy, Mamata Banerjee’s closest ally. Dinesh Trivedi is the likely candidate for the cabinet berth of Railways. Uttar Pradesh is likely to get a major chunk of ministers as well. Jitin Prasad is lobbying for a cabinet berth as CP Joshi is plaguing him, by not assigning him any work. The Behraich MP, a dalit, is expected to be inducted. Raj Babbar, the yesteryear’s film star, who came to Congress after being disappointed with SP, is also in queue. Beni Prasad Verma is hoping to get a cabinet rank as well.
Khurshid and Sachar remark
Salman Khurshid, who is the most sophisticated Muslim face of the Congress, is likely to be stripped off his Minority Affairs portfolio. His statement attacking the Sachar recommendations, where he has told the Muslim community that the Sachar is not Quran that it cannot be changed, has created a flutter in the Muslim fraternity. Muslim leaders of the Congress are extremely upset with his statement. There is thinking among the Muslim leaders of the party that such statements by the Minority Affairs minister will damage the party’s prospects, particularly when elections are due in UP next year and Muslims who are turning towards the Congress might, once again, move away to the SP or BSP. It is the Sachar revelations that helped Mamata to sweep the elections in West Bengal. The Muslims in West Bengal were mainly Left supporters till Sachar revealed that the Muslims in West Bengal were in more deplorable state compared to any other Indian state, including Modi’s Gujarat. Mamata made this a big issue wooing the Muslims to move over to Trinamool Congress from the Left. Muslim leaders feel Sachar recommendations have come as a ray of hope for the community but such utterances will once again push them towards other secular forces.
Ajit Singh’s bid for Cabinet berth
Choudhury Ajit Singh can join hands with the Congress if he is made a minister in the UPA Government in Delhi. Hectic Bargaining is on between the Congress and Ajit Singh. While the Congress is pressurizing the Jat supremo to have an alliance with the Congress in UP, Ajit Singh first wants the Congress to make him a minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. Even when the Congress general secretary met the Prime Minister to apprise him of the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh, he has made sure to put Ajit Singh’s situation before the PM. He has requested the PM to take the RLD chief into the cabinet. He has also presented the Choudhury’s demand before the Congress President. Nevertheless, the Congress is yet to take a decision on this. Moreover, Ajit Singh’s son Jayant is opposed to the alliance as he feels it is a one-way road, in which only Congress will benefit from the alliance, but would have nothing to contribute in its turn to the RLD in Western UP.
Manmohan upset
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday two weeks ago, it was mainly to register his protest against the growing voices within the party questioning his survival. It was only after this meeting that the Congress issued a clarification to Digvijay Singh’s statement, where he said it was time Rahul Gandhi took over as Prime Minister. The PM is said to be very upset over such irresponsible statements. The party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan on Monday did make certain amends. She said that Dr Manmohan Singh was our Prime Minister and would continue to be so. However, her clarification was made in ambiguous terms.
Chavan scared
Resentment is brewing within the Congress in Maharashtra against the chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. Recently, the leading Maharashtra daily Lokmat, run by Congress MP Vijay Darda and his younger brother Rajender Darda, who is a Congress minister in Maharashtra, carried a strong article criticising Chavan, calling him lazy and lethargic. According to the article published, Chavan has held only 13 cabinet meetings in 7 months, when as per the convention it should have been, if not one meeting every week.