11-30-2005, 01:42 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Chidambaram may get Home </b>
Pioneer.com
Sanjay K Jha/ New Delhi
Finance Minister P Chidambaram, whose fate looked uncertain over the last few months, has all of a sudden gained in stature and importance. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to draft him for handling the Volcker issue both in and outside Parliament has prompted the Congress circles to see the new colour of power equations within the top echelons of the party.
The Volcker row came as a huge jolt for the Congress and party president Sonia Gandhi took it very seriously. She was keen to clear the party's name as soon as possible and wanted the best man to undertake this job. In normal circumstances, such issues are dealt with the Home Minister and the Law Minister, but the party leadership chose the Finance Minister, a decision enough in itself to send mean-ingful signals.
In fact, this has come at a time when speculation is rife in the Congress circles that Mr Chidambaram may be shifted to the Home Ministry in the impending reshuffle. By his effective performance on the Volcker issue, the Finance Minister has removed whatever doubts some people had about his suitability in a "political and administrative" ministry like Home. There are suggestions that Mr Shivraj Patil be moved to Defence and Mr Pranab Mukherjee to the External Affairs Ministry to fill in the vacancy created by removal of Mr Natwar Singh.
Sources in the Government say the Prime Minister was anyway not very happy with Mr Natwar Singh in the Foreign Ministry. The party leadership feels Mr Mukherjee cannot be sent to the Home Ministry, his original choice, as<span style='color:red'> he would soon emerge as a parallel power centre. On the other hand, like Mr Patil, Mr Chidambaram has neither any mass support nor political clout within the party.</span>
The Finance Ministry may be gifted to Mr C Rangarajan, tipped to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha in a few days. Mr Rangarajan is an old favourite with the Congress, as former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao was keen to make him the Finance Minister long ago. Although all these changes are still in the realm of speculation, party sources say the Prime Minister is giving a serious thought to this kind of a major reshuffle.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>This suits Ms Sonia Gandhi too, as Mr Chidambaram will be totally dependent on her goodwill for his survival in the key ministry.</span> His strong rapport with the Prime Minister will also make the Government's functioning easier. At the same time, Mr Chidambaram, a senior lawyer, has the intelligence and oratorical skills to turn the tables on the Opposition in any debate.
Mr Chidambaram was chosen for the Volcker job purely on merit as the recent performances of Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Law Minister HR Bharadwaj in many important cases, including Bihar, have been far from impressive. Mr Chidambaram went about the job with utmost care and when it came to Parliament, he demolished the Opposition's arguments with surgical precision and without any irrelevant political rhetoric.
Many Congress leaders on Tuesday hailed Mr Chidambaram's performance, pointing out the sharpness and maturity of his reply as compared to Mr Patil's often tentative and tepid responses. <b>His blunt remark to Mr L Advani that he was not being briefed properly on the basics, was explained by some MPs as his "guts and tenacity", badly missing in the present Home Minister's approach. </b>
The added political advantage that will accrue to the Congress leadership with his exit from the Finance Ministry is the respite it will give to the Left. The Left has been unhappy with his fierce pro-reforms push and the demands for his ouster from the Finance Ministry had become more intense after the BHEL disinvestment controversy. The Left is also not very happy with Mr Patil for his role in Jharkhand and Bihar. The Congress leadership certainly won't mind hitting two birds with one stone.
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Pioneer.com
Sanjay K Jha/ New Delhi
Finance Minister P Chidambaram, whose fate looked uncertain over the last few months, has all of a sudden gained in stature and importance. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to draft him for handling the Volcker issue both in and outside Parliament has prompted the Congress circles to see the new colour of power equations within the top echelons of the party.
The Volcker row came as a huge jolt for the Congress and party president Sonia Gandhi took it very seriously. She was keen to clear the party's name as soon as possible and wanted the best man to undertake this job. In normal circumstances, such issues are dealt with the Home Minister and the Law Minister, but the party leadership chose the Finance Minister, a decision enough in itself to send mean-ingful signals.
In fact, this has come at a time when speculation is rife in the Congress circles that Mr Chidambaram may be shifted to the Home Ministry in the impending reshuffle. By his effective performance on the Volcker issue, the Finance Minister has removed whatever doubts some people had about his suitability in a "political and administrative" ministry like Home. There are suggestions that Mr Shivraj Patil be moved to Defence and Mr Pranab Mukherjee to the External Affairs Ministry to fill in the vacancy created by removal of Mr Natwar Singh.
Sources in the Government say the Prime Minister was anyway not very happy with Mr Natwar Singh in the Foreign Ministry. The party leadership feels Mr Mukherjee cannot be sent to the Home Ministry, his original choice, as<span style='color:red'> he would soon emerge as a parallel power centre. On the other hand, like Mr Patil, Mr Chidambaram has neither any mass support nor political clout within the party.</span>
The Finance Ministry may be gifted to Mr C Rangarajan, tipped to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha in a few days. Mr Rangarajan is an old favourite with the Congress, as former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao was keen to make him the Finance Minister long ago. Although all these changes are still in the realm of speculation, party sources say the Prime Minister is giving a serious thought to this kind of a major reshuffle.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>This suits Ms Sonia Gandhi too, as Mr Chidambaram will be totally dependent on her goodwill for his survival in the key ministry.</span> His strong rapport with the Prime Minister will also make the Government's functioning easier. At the same time, Mr Chidambaram, a senior lawyer, has the intelligence and oratorical skills to turn the tables on the Opposition in any debate.
Mr Chidambaram was chosen for the Volcker job purely on merit as the recent performances of Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Law Minister HR Bharadwaj in many important cases, including Bihar, have been far from impressive. Mr Chidambaram went about the job with utmost care and when it came to Parliament, he demolished the Opposition's arguments with surgical precision and without any irrelevant political rhetoric.
Many Congress leaders on Tuesday hailed Mr Chidambaram's performance, pointing out the sharpness and maturity of his reply as compared to Mr Patil's often tentative and tepid responses. <b>His blunt remark to Mr L Advani that he was not being briefed properly on the basics, was explained by some MPs as his "guts and tenacity", badly missing in the present Home Minister's approach. </b>
The added political advantage that will accrue to the Congress leadership with his exit from the Finance Ministry is the respite it will give to the Left. The Left has been unhappy with his fierce pro-reforms push and the demands for his ouster from the Finance Ministry had become more intense after the BHEL disinvestment controversy. The Left is also not very happy with Mr Patil for his role in Jharkhand and Bihar. The Congress leadership certainly won't mind hitting two birds with one stone.
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