Brushing aside demands of their resignation, the Congress on Sunday decided to give benefit of doubt to Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and wait for the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing on May 8 before taking a call on the fate of law Minister Ashwani Kumar.
"There is a probe going on. let the result come. We will decide after that," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters after a meeting of the Congress Core Group at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official residence in New Delhi. On Ashwani Kumar, he said the matter is sub judice and a decision will be taken after the Supreme Court’s order.
“No action against the law Minister as matter is sub judice,” he said. Before the core group meeting, Congress president Sonia Gandhi held consultations with Defence Minister AK Antony on the Bansal issue.
The Congress leaders feel that asking Bansal to quit would be like playing into the Opposition's hands. "Accepting the demand would open a floodgate," said a senior Congress leader. The leaders claimed that the once the Budget Session was over, focus would shift on other issue, and the controversy would die its natural death.
Bansal is in the eye of the storm in the wake of the arrest of his nephew by CBI on the charge of accepting bribe to fix plum position in the Railway Board and demands for his removal and prosecution are mounting.
Bansal is said to have explained his position claiming he had neither business link with his nephew nor did he get influenced by him in decision-making. He has distanced himself from his nephew Vijay Singla, who was arrested by CBI two days back for allegedly accepting Rs. 90 lakh for fixing a better position for Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar.
Throughout the day the main Opposition BJP targeted Bansal. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu and Ravi Shankar Prasad asked the Government to forthwith dismiss Bansal and prosecute him.