NEW DELHI, 16 October — In the seventh reshuffle of his Cabinet, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday reinducted scam-tainted-yet-to-be-exonerated George Fernandes and Haren Pathak. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convener, Fernandes, was again given the Defense Ministry, while Pathak was made the minister of state for defense production.
Fernandes had resigned from the Cabinet in the wake of Tehelka expose earlier this year, whereas the member of parliament from Gujarat, Pathak, had to quit the ministry after being charge sheeted in a criminal case. Fernandes had initially said he would not return to the government until his name was cleared by a judicial investigation launched into what came to be known as the "Tehelka scandal" but subsequently began pressing the prime minister to take him back.
At the time of quitting the ministry Fernandes had said that he will remain out of the Cabinet until his name was cleared in the Tehelka expose. It is to be noted that the inquiry into the expose headed by Justice Venkatswami is still on, and it is yet to give a clean chit to Fernandes. Hence, Fernandes’ return to the Cabinet has been roundly criticized by the opposition parties as well as sections of the ruling NDA.
The opposition is reportedly gearing up to lodge a large-scale protest on the issue. "We will raise the issue within and outside parliament," said the Congress party spokesperson S. Jaipal Reddy.
"This is nothing but a perversion, distortion and subversion of all the norms of democratic life," Reddy said.
Congress is going to raise the issue when parliament opens for the winter session on November 19. But a belligerent Fernandes said he had been reinducted into the Cabinet because it was the wish of the prime minister.
"He (the prime minister) said you are going to join the government, there is nothing to discuss," Fernandes told Star News channel. "I will be asking them to produce charges against me... you can’t just say ‘tainted’ just like that... just by mere shouting on the streets I don’t become an accused," the minister told Star News.
Vajpayee defended his decision by saying there was no case against Fernandes. "He had resigned on his own. Nothing incriminating against him has come to light during the proceedings of the inquiry commission. Even the notice given by the commission to him does not relate to any charges."
The premier described the contribution made by Fernandes during his tenure as defense minister as "significant."
Fernandes’ entry into the Cabinet also spells a blow to other ministerial aspirants in the line. One of them is Trinamool Congress chief and former railway minister, Mamata Bannerjee. Another significant development of the day is that Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain has been retained. The hoax-hijack case had built ground for his dismissal. However, with an eye on Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Vajpayee changed his mind. Besides, when despite the Tehalka scam, Fernandes has been reinducted, there remains no ground for Shahnawaz’s dismissal.
