Bansal, Ashwani bow out

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New Delhi: Union railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Union law minister Ashwani Kumar resigned on Friday after being ordered to do so. Bansal quit as he grew more embroiled each day in the “cash-for-job” Railway Board scandal while Kumar lost his job in the face of charges that he vetted the CBI’s draft report on its probe of the coal block allocation scam.
The ministers’ fates were sealed after Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and it was decided that the two ministers should be asked to put in their papers to contain further damage to the government. “Yes, I’ve resigned,” said Bansal on emerging from a meeting with the PM a week after his nephew was arrested for allegedly accepting Rs 90 lakh from a Railway Board member in return for a promise of promotion. Bansal and Kumar met the PM separately at his 7, Race Course Road residence on Friday night.
Sonia Gandhi and Dr Singh took the decision as there was growing unease in the party that the continuance of the two ministers was eroding the credibility of the government, which has been bat tling scams and controversies for the last three years.
In his resignation letter, Bansal said he was unaware that his nephew was in contact with Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar but that he still thought it proper to step down. He said he looked forward to an expeditious investigation. Kumar’s resignation letter said he was quitting to put an end to “unnecessary controversy” and “public perception of any wrongdoing” and that the apex court had not passed any strictures against him.
A statement from the government on the issue is expected on Saturday.
Bansal even fed a goat at his residence earlier in the day, a ritual considered lucky, but to no avail. There were rumours later that the goat had been sacrificed but there was no confirmation of the fate of the “scapegoat”. Bansal’s wife Madhu also attended the prayer.
Bansal’s exit is expected to trigger a reshuffle in the Union Cabinet over which the Congress president and the Prime Minister will meet on Sunday.
The reshuffle is expected next week. There were unconfirmed reports from Bengaluru that Union labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge, who lost out in the race for the chief ministership of Karnataka, told his supporters not to be disheartened because he may be given the railway portfolio.