Two dented, tainted mantris go in a day

New Delhi: In swift and decisive moves, the Congress brass on Friday gave marching orders to railway minister Pawan Bansal, under a cloud after the CBI arrested his nephew for taking a bribe for a Railway Board job, and law minister Ashwani Kumar, who has faced Supreme Court rap for vetting and changing the CBI report on Coalgate.
   It is learned that Sonia Gandhi leaned on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to secure their resignations. The PM agreed to remove the duo— both seen to be close to him—after a 45-minute meeting with the Congress chief who, according to sources, had strongly advocated drastic measures to counter the softon-corruption image that has been bleeding the Congress.
   The sacking of two Union ministers on corruption-linked charges on a single day is unprecedented. While the axe was wielded because of growing opposition and public pressure, there is an impression that the Congress was also seeking to draw some political mileage out of an adverse situation. While the BJP was booted out in Karnataka two days ago for running a corrupt government, the Congress is likely to brandish its new-found "intolerance" to corruption.
   Already Congress leaders were ridiculing the BJP "sermonizing" the party on probity. A sustained campaign would escalate the BJP's cost of re-inducting B S Yeddyurappa in Karnataka as that would be seen as welcoming back a "corrupt" leader. However, without him, the BJP's prospects in the Lok Sabha polls in the state will significantly recede.

FRIDAY EVENING SHOW: GONE WITH THE WIND


   Law minister Ashwani Kumar & railway minister Pawan Bansal quit after Cong chief Sonia Gandhi meets PM on Friday evening
   Oppn clamour, public outrage may have forced Cong to act. But Cong will now pit its 'intolerance to corruption' image against BJP that was booted out of Karnataka over corruption
   Cost of reinducting BSY in Karnataka goes up for BJP as he's seen to be corrupt. No reinduction will reduce its chances in the state in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections

COUNTDOWN TO SACKING

APR 12 Reports surface that Ashwani scanned CBI draft on Coalgate, toned down findings MAY 3 Railway minister Pawan Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla arrested by CBI for taking Rs 90 lakh bribe for Railway Board posting MAY 5 Cong core group meets, rules out sack of Pawan Bansal & Ashwani Kumar
MAY 6 CBI files affidavit in SC that law minister, PMO and coal ministry made significant changes in Coalgate status report
MAY 8 SC says heart of Coalgate report changed by Ashwani & govt officials
MAY 10 Sonia meets PM. PM agrees to remove Bansal and Kumar, both seen as close to him

WHAT NEXT?

Reshuffle coming: With allocation of ministries like chemicals & fertilizers pending, and some MoS holding extra charges, changes in railways & law might be couched as part of larger reshuffle

UPA-2 MINISTERS QUITTING UNDER CLOUD

NOV 15, 2010 A Raja (DMK), for 2G scam JULY 7, 2011 Dayanidhi Maran (DMK), for alleged corruption in Aircel-Maxis deal
JUN 26, 2012 Virbhadra Singh (Cong), for alleged graft in business deals
MAY 10, 2013 Pawan Bansal, Ashwani Kumar (both Cong) for Railgate, Coalgate

PM reluctant to let go of law minister Ashwani?


   Last time, Karnataka gave BJP the largest block of members of parliament from a state — 19.
   Although Manmohan Singh had seemed disinclined to drop Kumar altogether from the Cabinet, he eventually gave in to Sonia's insistence — and in every likelihood, her political game plan on corruption — on what party sources termed as "demonstrable" action against graft.
   In their resignation letters to the President, Bansal wrote that he was unaware of his nephew's contact with the Railway Board member while Kumar wrote that he was quitting to put an end to the controversy and public perception of wrongdoing.
   The railway minister reached PM's residence just before 9pm, and Kumar followed him shortly afterwards.
   Well-placed sources indicated that petroleum minister Verrappa Moily and telecom minister Kapil Sibal were being considered for holding the additional charge of the law ministry. No decision has been taken on Bansal's replacement in the railway ministry yet.
   With the resignations in, Congress swiftly moved to claim the moral high ground, while questioning BJP's commitment to probity. Party spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das said: "Congress stands by its commitment to fight corruption, and has never tolerated these issues. However, BJP has a lot to explain why it acted with such delay and reluctance against its former CMs in Karnataka and Uttarkhand, B S Yeddyurappa and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, respectively, and why there has been no action yet against Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh who faces serious charges."
   Although the fate of Bansal and Kumar had looked fragile for quite some time, the die was cast soon after Sonia Gandhi drove down to 7, Race Course Road just after 5pm for urgent consultations with the PM at his residence.
   The conversation happened against the backdrop of strong indications that CBI's investigation into the auction of crucial jobs in railways could end at Bansal's bungalow. The railway minister had earned the benefit of doubt on Sunday, with Congress's core group, party's elite decisionmaking body, giving some weightage to his argument that his maternal nephew, Vijay Singla, who is in judicial custody for taking bribes for railway posting, was not connected with him in any way.
   The PM is understood to have been reluctant to let go of Ashwani Kumar. Sources said Singh had surprised many by picking Ashwani, a relative political lightweight, for the sensitive law ministry. It's said that he had been seeming to draw a distinction between Bansal's possible culpability in the alleged misdeeds of his nephew, and the case of Kumar.
   Government sources have maintained that the law minister could at worst be accused of having committed an indiscretion in seeking to protect PM's interests in the Coalgate probe.
   However, the Congress leadership maintained that the public mood was unsparing on corruption, and will not respect a nuanced reading of perceived guilt.