Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was finally asked to put in his papers.
This was minutes after a Congress spokesperson said the party would not allow corrupt ministers to continue in the Government.
In a day of fast-paced developments, party president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Shortly thereafter, the Prime Minister asked Bansal to put in his papers.
Around 9 pm, both Bansal and Ashwani Kumar went to meet the Prime Minister, fuelling speculation that not just Bansal but Ashwani Kumar too had put in his papers.
The delay in the resignations of Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar had stirred up talk that all was not well between the Prime Minister and the Congress president.
Congress sources said the party was expecting Bansal to resign on his own, as new evidence appeared in the media on his alleged involvement in the case of bribery for a key appointment in the Railway Board.
“He should have resigned at least a week ago,” a Congress leader said. Though there was no official confirmation on the resignation, party sources said the Prime Minister’s Office has forwarded Bansal’s resignation letter to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Fifth Rail minister
On Friday afternoon, Bansal visited the Rail Bhavan after two days, but did not speak to the media despite repeated questions.
Asked to comment on reports about his resignation, Bansal reiterated, “I have said what I had to in the statement issued on Saturday.”
On Saturday, Bansal had stated that he had no business relationship with his nephew, who was arrested by the CBI for accepting Rs 90 lakh allegedly as bribe for a plum Railway Board post.
Railway Ministry sources maintained till late in the evening that they had not got any information on the Minister’s resignation. Bansal was the fifth Railway Minister in the UPA-2 regime.
He was also the first Congress Minister to have presented the Railway Budget this year after 17 years. During his six-month tenure, Bansal had increased passenger fares across the board after ten years.
The potential candidates who may replace Bansal are Mallikarjun Kharge, C.P. Joshi and Ghulam Nabi Azad, all Cabinet Ministers in the present Government.