In the midst of the uproar over the missing coalgate files, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has created a flutter by ‘rewarding’ former law Minister Ashwani Kumar, who was accused of interfering with the CBI probe into the coal block allotment scandal.
Kumar, who had to exit the Cabinet three months ago for allegedly suggesting changes to the CBI report, has been appointed as the PM’s Special Envoy to Japan in the rank of a Cabinet Minister. The Prime Minister has nominated Kumar “to visit for up to seven days as PM’s Special Envoy for that period (in the rank and the privileges of a Cabinet Minister) to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges with Japan....”
“And to prepare for the upcoming visit of the Emperor and Empress and the Prime Minister of Japan to India,” an official letter to Kumar said. The letter said External Affairs Ministry officials will be in touch with Kumar to implement the Prime Minister’s instructions.