Ramesh likely to continue as Union minister

Under fire for his remarks against the Union home ministry during his China visit, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today got a reprieve and is likely to hold on to his portfolio.

The minister’s camp denied reports that Ramesh had offered his resignation to the prime minister. Top sources in the UPA government said Ramesh’s ministerial berth is safe and he is likely to get re-nominated for the Rajya Sabha in July from Andhra Pradesh. “As of now, the decision is that he will continue as a minister,” a minister told Business Standard on Thursday.

After meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P Chidambaram over the past few days, Ramesh is also expected to meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to clarify his stand.

However, according to sources, Ramesh was not discussed in the core committee meeting of the Congress party on Wednesday. “The Manipur situation was the predominant issue in yesterdays meeting. Though some other issues were also discussed, discussion on Ramesh or the caste-based census did not take place,” the source said.

Ramesh had said the Home Ministry and the security establishment were being ”alarmist and paranoid” when it came to Chinese companies wanting to do business in India. Ramesh’s remarks, allegedly at an off-the-record chat with some journalists in China, created a political turmoil back home. On Wednesday, Ramesh met Chidambaram to clarify his statement.

The Prime Minister’s Office received a report that said the Indian ambassador in Beijing, S Jaishankar, had in fact, alerted the minister that his comments could create problems. But an undeterred Ramesh didn’t pay heed to the advices and maintained that in a democracy he has the right to express his personal opinions.

The party and the government have already strongly disapproved his remarks while the Prime Minister called him up and reprimanded him for his freewheeling style of talking.

Officially, the government refrained from adding fuel to the controversy. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said after the cabinet briefing, “I will not comment on this. It is an issue between the prime minister, the UPA chairperson and Rameshji, It is not for me to comment on an issue like this.”

The Congress managers also tried to downplay the controversy on Thursday. Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said, “Everyone should consider this as a closed chapter”. Other Congress managers also claimed that Ramesh didn’t offer to resign and his chair is safe.

Ramesh had already clarified and apologised for his “mistake” in a letter to Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh soon after his return from Beijing but the efforts were not enough to gain their confidence back. Chidambaram too, wrote a letter to Singh, expressing his unhappiness over Ramesh's remarks.