After dithering for weeks, the Congress finally decided to act on Friday. Both Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and law Minister Ashwani Kumar were ultimately forced to resign, thereby ending suspense surrounding their fate.
Under immense political pressure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dropped both Bansal and Ashwani from the Cabinet in view of the charges of corruption and impropriety surrounding the duo.
The arrest of Bansal's nephew V Singla by the CBI in the cash-for-job scam, and media revelations about his family's business transactions and bank loans had caused the UPA Government major embarrassment. The law Minister had also attracted the Supreme Court's wrath for vetting the CBI draft report on the coal scam and the standoff with the Opposition over his resignation had led to the washout of the post-recess period Budget Session of Parliament.
Congress managers would like the media to believe that though party President Sonia Gandhi had initially backed the two Ministers, in the end it was she who forced a reluctant Prime Minister to oust both the Ministers.
Sonia met the Prime Minister at his residence in the evening and reportedly conveyed that action must be taken against the two Ministers as it is affecting the party and the Government's image.
However, Bansal's ouster had become inevitable after it became clear that the CBI was set to question him. However, typical of the Congress party, the credit for this fait accompli was also given to the party president.
Similarly, after the scathing remarks of the Supreme Court over changing the CBI status report in the coal scam, the Government was finding it difficult to defend Ashwani.
Following Manmohan Singh's directive to Bansal to put in his papers, the Railway Minister, who skipped office and did not even attend the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, reached Rail Bhavan and cleared some papers. later, he went to the Prime Minister's residence and submitted his resignation.
"Yes, I have resigned," said 64-year-old Bansal emerging from a meeting with the PM. Bansal, who is the first Congress Minister to get the Railway portfolio after 17 years, is the third Rail Minister after Dinesh Trivedi and Mukul Roy, to resign before completing his term.
later, Ashwani also met the PM and submitted his resignation. Significantly, unlike Bansal, who was keeping a low profile and seeking divine intervention, Ashwani had unsuccessfully tried to meet the PM a day earlier, held discussion with PMO officials and even attended the Cabinet meeting.
Already names of labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and CP Joshi are doing the rounds as replacements for Bansal. Kharge, who lost the race for the Karnataka Chief Minister's post to ClP leader Siddaramaiah, has reportedly told his supporters in Bangalore not to be disappointed as he is likely to get the Railway Minister's job at the Centre.
For the law Minister's post the names of Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari are doing the rounds. However, the situation will be clear only after the minor Cabinet reshuffle which is expected sometime next week.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Political Secretary of the Congress President Ahmad Patel had also met the PM at his residence. These hectic political parleys are indicative of key changes that are likely to happen within the Government and the party.
Initially the Congress had brazenly defended both Bansal and Ashwani and had not even hesitated in sacrificing the entire post-recess session of Parliament by staunchly refusing the Opposition demand for their resignation.
However, later it had realized that growing media revelations and likelihood of CBI questioning Bansal has made his position untenable. Though the PM was strongly defending Ashwani, the party could not have used two different yardsticks against the erring Ministers.
With the UPA Government facing a number of scams and corruption charges, the Congress is already facing a crisis of credibility and is losing the battle of perception. Since the lok Sabha elections due in an year's time, the party felt that a strong message needed to be sent as far as the two Ministers are concerned to retain the advantage of Karnataka Assembly poll victory.
So, reports about Sonia not being happy over continuation of the two Ministers started trickling from the party sources during the past few days. Significantly, both the Ministers hailing from Punjab were considered close to the Prime Minister.
Earlier in the day, Congress spokesman Bhakta Charan Das had hinted at likely action against both the Ministers saying that the party will not tolerate corruption.
"Anybody mired in corruption or any kind of manipulation will not be spared. The Congress has always taken corruption seriously and we are looking at the issue with great concern," he said.
The Opposition has welcomed the exit of the two Ministers, terming the action taken against them as delayed measures.
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said, "The resignation of the two Ministers showed that our demand for their resignation was justified and the Government was unnecessarily adamant."
"This is a step taken too late. Had the Government agreed to the BJP demand earlier, they could have saved precious time of Parliament," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also said that the resignation of both Ministers had come too late.
Congress sources justified the delayed action saying that the party and the Government could not have acted under pressure from the Opposition. Now the Congress is making efforts to insulate the PM from any criticism and avoid further dent to his image.