Even as the Opposition stepped up pressure on the Congress to oust Railway Minister Pawan Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, the Congress Party’s Core Committee, which met here on Sunday evening, refrained from taking a call on the fate of either of the Ministers.
Shaky ground
The Congress has decided to take a final call after the Karnataka State election results are announced on Wednesday. This decision comes in the backdrop of early signals that the Congress may win the Karnataka elections.
Railway Minister Pawan Bansal is already on a shaky ground with the Opposition parties, led by the BJP, launching a sharp attack on him after his nephew, Vijay Singla, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 90 lakh for a plum Railway Board post of Member-Electrical.
The alleged bribe was just part payment of the Rs 10 crore demanded for the post, according to a CBI statement.
The Congress Core Group discussed the matter at its meetings on Saturday and Sunday. Bansal was summoned on Saturday and allowed to explain his position. Congress President Sonia Gandhi held discussions with Defence Minister A.K. Antony on the issue.
The Congress had ruled out Bansal’s resignation, saying that it has become a disease for the Opposition to seek the resignation of Ministers on every issue.
The exit polls in theKarnataka elections also seem to have empowered the Congress leadership against succumbing to the Opposition pressure.
Disruptions
The BJP reiterated its demand for Bansal’s resignation. The party said the Railway Minister’s claim that he had no business relations with his nephew was far from truth. The CPI (M) has also demanded Bansal’s resignation.
The issue is likely to disrupt the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament on Monday.