New Delhi, October 14
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will undertake an expansion-cum-reshuffle of his Cabinet at noon here tomorrow even as his ministerial colleagues strongly favoured the reinduction of Samata Party leader George Fernandes as Union Defence Minister.
There are indications that the expansion will be limited to the reinduction of Mr Fernandes as Union Defence Minister and Mr Harin Pathak as a Minister of State. Mr Vajpayee is expected to fine-tune the portfolios of his ministerial colleagues to impart greater dynamism in the functioning of his government.
Despite initial reservations, Mr Vajpayee held discussions on the issue of bringing back Mr Fernandes as Defence Minister. The issue of having a full-fledged Defence Minister assumes importance because of the US — led fight against international terrorism and Pakistan’s continued proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir.
While speaking in Agra, Mr Vajpayee left no room for doubt about the reinduction of Mr Fernandes. To buttress his point, the Prime Minister observed that the decision-making in the government “should not be so slow that we are not in a position to meet the present challenge.”
Mr Fernandes had called on Mr Vajpayee yesterday and discussed with him the pros and cons of his reinduction. He is believed to have argued that the government cannot apply two different yardsticks in rehabilitating people. The reference was to the rehabilitation of Mr Bangaru Laxman who had to make an ignominious exit as the president of the BJP because of his alleged involvement in the Tehelka expose pertaining to corruption in defence deals.
Mr Pathak has been cleared by the court of the criminal charges levelled against him. That has paved the way for his re-entry
in
the Union Council of Ministers thus providing representation to Gujarat.Mr Fernandes, who is currently in Latur in Maharashtra, is expected to return to the Capital tomorrow morning for the swearing-in ceremony. Mr Fernandes had to make his exit from the government following the Tehelka expose though he has maintained that the charges levelled against him are false. He has also questioned the authenticity of the Tehelka tapes.
The Samata Party leader was opposed to his reinduction in Mr Vajpayee’s government in an ornamental position as that would amount to corroborating his alleged acts of
omission or commission in defence deals. It was apparent that Mr Fernandes would have been compelled to re-draw his priorities if Mr Vajpayee had ignored his claims. Leaving out Mr Fernandes from the Cabinet Committee on Security at this juncture would send wrong signals.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K. C. Pant, who was being actively considered for the post of Union Defence Minister till yesterday, will necessarily have to take a backseat now. Strategists of the BJP believe the move will compound matters as Mr Pant is not a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha and will have to seek election within six months.
Supporting the reinduction of Mr Fernandes, Union External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Union Rural Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu emphasised that the Samata party leader was the most suitable candidate for the post of Union Defence Minister.
Mr Naidu took exception to the Opposition parties questioning the reinduction of Mr Fernandes in the Union Cabinet. He stressed that there had not been a single case of corruption against the NDA government as against the long list of scams associated with the Congress and other parties. About Mr Fernandes, Mr Naidu said, “We have never had in the past such an honest and competent Defence Minister.”
