Manmohan backs Home Minister as Opposition calls for his ouster over 2G scam
Amidst growing speculation on a serious rift within his government, and even as a united Opposition demanded that P. Chidambaram quit over the 2G scam on the strength of a Finance Ministry note to the PMO, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came to his Home Minister's rescue. On board Air India One, en route to New York, he told journalists: “So far as Mr. Chidambaram is concerned, he enjoyed my confidence as Finance Minister and he continues to enjoy my confidence as Home Minister.” To another question on the “war” between the Ministers of Finance and Home, he said: “I do not want to interpret this as a fight among my Ministers.”
The Prime Minister's unequivocal defence of Mr. Chidambaram came on the heels of the Congress — both the party and the government — closing ranks behind the Home Minister.
The party's official — and unofficial — view is that the note does not contain any evidence of criminal culpability on the part of Mr. Chidambaram; it only reveals differing views on a policy issue within the government. The party also held that it was a moot question whether courts had the jurisdiction to pronounce on a policy matter.
With both the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee abroad, party sources said a resolution of this new controversy would have to await their return next week. But Dr. Singh's public defence on Thursday itself would suggest that he had realised the gravity of the situation. Earlier in the day, the beleaguered Home Minister broke his silence, issuing a brief statement, saying both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister had telephoned him and that he had assured the Prime Minister that he would “not make any public statement on the subject until he returns to India.”
In Washington, Mr. Mukherjee told journalists that he could not comment on a “sub judice” matter. But he referred to it while addressing Indian and American business leaders there, saying the note had surfaced, thanks to the Right to Information Act, a law the government had enacted to flush out corruption.
Cynics in the Congress, however, maintain that without a tip-off from an insider the person who had filed the RTI application would not have known what to ask for. Indeed, within the party and the government there is growing concern about the fallout of the “open war” between Mr. Mukherjee and Mr. Chidambaram. Party sources said this was not the first time either of them sought to get at the other, recalling the occasions on which Mr. Mukherjee's office was “bugged” in the chewing gum episode and when a critical story on an official close to the Finance Minister surfaced in a pink paper. The sources also say that it needs to be sorted out by the two Ministers, or better still by the Prime Minister. A senior party office-bearer told The Hindu: “It is the Prime Minister's responsibility to ensure peace in his Council of Ministers.”
(With inputs from Praveen Swami in New York)
Comments:
We wonder whether PC is paying a price for his intellectual arrogance or for rubbing Pranab on the wrong side. The Irony is that the man who was described as a power broker during Rajiv's days, is calling the shots because of a weak PM.What is the responsibility of Pranab as a senior member of the cabinet and was it not a collective cabinet decision? PC must muster courage and take the battle to his opponents.Manmohan and PC should join together and wipe out these back biters from the party and the government.
of course, we earnestly hope that PC's hands are clean in this murky episode. It was painful to hear the comments of a communist MP that PC should keep the arrangments ready inside Tihar for his stay.
It looks like Chidhambaram does not care about Indian Government making money for infrastructure investments, he cares more about private companies making money so they can plough that money back into Congress party coffers. Do we need people like this serving the people. We need people like Anna Hazare to expose these duplicity people and controlling the Government. It looks like people around Dr. Manmohan Singh are burrying him alive, I feel sorry for Dr. Singh. Nice man sorrounded by crooks.
Even if PC has not done anything wrong in the eyes of the court, a wrong policy of this proportions require that PC resign. This is not first time he made major mistakes such as declaring Telangana in the middle of the night. It is dangerous to have such a person heading any ministry leave alone the Home ministry.
There has always been a fear about Pranabda who really deserves to be the PM.Mr.Chidambaram has been upto so many tricks and it is high time that he gets off the high horse. His actions against Ramdev and Hazare clearly shows how crooked he can be. At present he and Mr.Sibal are the most hated Ministers in the cabinet. Thanks to RTI so many things get revealed.How long will the Congress try to suppress the fact that they are the mother of all corruption?
Kudos to Jaya for taking a brave stand agaisnt the HM and a corrupt central minister considering HM has power to 'needle' state Government. Expect more CMs come out in open to put pressure on Manmohan singh. Sad that PM has ensorsed the loss of 176000 crores which Chidu could have prevented.
I don't understand why congress is supporting Chidambaram insted of Pranab Mukherjee!! Let UPA allow the inquiry of Chidambaram. If he is not involved, he need not be afraid. By supporting Chidu, UPA is giving the wrong message to the people. During UPA rule, the peoples money gone in to the pockets of politicians. India became poor and politicians and their caucus became rich!!
Fully agree with your views.It is shameful that the present politicians and officialdom are only after money which is having an eroding value. If they have any consciousness,let them declare there excess amount and start a simple living. Dream only. Chidambaram can experiment and many will follow.
The Hindu report ('Congress closes ranks behind Chidambaram', Sept.23, 2011) where it is said that some in the Congress party "maintain that without a tip-off from an insider, the person who had filed the RTI application would not have known what to ask for", if true in reality, points to a big draw-back in the RTI Act which renders it ineffective in many cases. Things need to be changed to become more transparent and useful, or else, the much-boasted piece of legislation would turn out to be merely ornamental.
A war between two Congress ministers might have created the present predicament for the Congress and the government it leads. but that is a problem which the Congress party and the government have to grapple with. What bothers the people of this country however is the information that the Finance Ministry under Pranab Mukherjee has indicted the former Finance Minister, Mr.Chidambaram, in the 2G mega scam.The Congress might use different yardsticks to measure the culpability of Mr.Chidambaram and Mr.Raja even though they had had jointly finalised the pricing and mode of sale of the 2G spectrum as per an existing cabinet mandate for the Finance and Telecom ministers to jointly take that decision. But that ploy of the Congress may not wash in a court of law. Mr.Chidambaram surely and the government probably are in deep trouble.
The episode shows how the Govt. functions in bits and parts and creates distrust and depair in the people. Pranab's note only shows that had Chidambaram exercised caution, the crisis could have been averted. Corruption creeps in several ways in the functioning of the Govt.,giving room for suspicion.
Normally parties contest the elections as "Rivals for Power"!But once a Govt. is formed they get transformed into "Partners for Progress"!Here, the animosity continues for ever!BJP is the first to seize opportunity to attack UPA Govt. and calling for resignations of X,Y&Z!If one were to look at the genesis of 2G Spectrum scam, he will be baffled. In November, 2008, Dr, Swamy wrote tp PM seeking his sanction to arrest Raja!The CAG's Report on it was placed before Parliament on 16th November,2010! How swamy got the details two years earlier? Now the much hyped FM's Note was secured by one Vivek Garg, who applied as an individual under RTI Act!How,then Swamy got it?
Pranab Mukherji is among the very few men in indian politics who adhere to principles enshrined in the constitution. He acts as a steward of constitution rather than acting as a puppet of congress party or to be more precise congress president. And probably this is the reason why he is not the Prime Minister of India.
I hope Mr.Chidambaram comes out of this clean and strong -- he is after all, one of few the genuine and sincere people in the Parliament.