Jairam offers to resign,Govt yet to decide

The Indian Express that the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were seized of the matter and no decision had been taken yet.

The issue was said to have been discussed at a meeting of the Congress Core Group this evening. Sources said the leadership was of the view that Ramesh had crossed the line by questioning his country’s policy on foreign soil and this could not be condoned.

In Beijing to attend an international conference on climate change last weekend,Ramesh had said that New Delhi was unduly “paranoid” and “alarmist” about Chinese private companies investing in India. He said the security establishment,a reference to the Home Ministry,was “imagining demons where there are none” and putting “needless” restrictions on Chinese investments.

The remarks raised a storm at home with the Prime Minister pulling him up and the Congress publicly rebuffing him for criticising the government on foreign soil.

Official sources said that though Ramesh’s resignation offer was under consideration and there was a big question mark over his continuance in the Council of Ministers,the UPA leadership was still holding discussions on the “exit routes” and might take some time before arriving at a decision.

Congress sources said that Ramesh’s re-nomination to Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh also looked difficult given the opposition by party leaders and legislators from the state. His term in the Rajya Sabha ends on June 21. A section of the ruling party was of the opinion that instead of making him quit now,he should be allowed to retire from Rajya Sabha and later dropped from the Council of Ministers.

Sensing the seriousness with which the leadership was considering his resignation offer,Ramesh today called on Home Minister P Chidambaram to explain the context of his remarks in Beijing. He also sought an appointment with Law Minister and AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh M Veerappa Moily. He was not available for comments.