Under fire, Bansal and Ashwani quit

In a dramatic development, two top Cabinet Ministers � Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar � were axed from the Union Cabinet on Friday night. Fate of the two Union Ministers was sealed when Congress President Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the day. All along, the Prime Minister had been delaying the decision to act against the tainted Union Ministers. With more and more skeletons tumbling out of Bansal's cupboard, his continuance in the Rail Ministry became untenable. Once Pawan Bansal was out, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar could not have remained far behind. Bansal was booted out following incriminating documents and explosive tapes seized by the CBI that exposed him not only in bribery and nepotism, but also on the charge of conflict of interest. Bansal was charged with corruption and is likely to be interrogated by the CBI in the coming days. After Ashwani Kumar was accused of tampering with the CBI status report on coal blocks allotment scam, he came under a cloud. Though the Prime Minister resisted till the last in showing the door to Ashwani Kumar, as it could land him in a peculiar situation on the role of his office in accessing the CBI status report, his hand was forced and he had to ask Ashwani Kumar to put in his papers. The first indication came during the day when the Prime Minister distanced himself from the Law Minister by claiming that he had never asked Ashwani Kumar to hold such a meeting of the CBI. The UPA government preferred to act now, as the Supreme Court is expected to make its observations on July 10 on the Centre's affidavit, which has to be filed by July 3. Bansal's exit from the Rail Ministry became imminent after the series of tapes that revealed the nexus between the Rail Minister, his relatives and the rail officials and how each of his family members benefitted financially by drawing business favours from the office of the Minister. What started as Rs 90 lakh bribe for plum posting as Member (Electrical) involving Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla and Mahesh Kumar, Member (Staff) in Railway Board, assumed menacing proportions where it was revealed that eight plum posts were still vacant in the Railway Ministry and were for sale. It was established beyond doubt how Bansal, when he was MoS, Finance, in 2007, appointed his family accountant Sunil Kumar Gupta as Director in Canara Bank, who, in turn, helped both his nephew and son in doling out loans for their firms. After the resignations of Pawan Bansal and Ashwani Kumar, the Congress is trying to reclaim the moral high ground. The decision on Bansal and Ashwani had to be taken, as the UPA's ninth anniversary, slated for May 22, was fast approaching. With each day, the continuance in office of these two tainted Ministers became increasingly untenable, following the growing demand of the Opposition that heads should roll.A Bansal and Ashwini Kumar's exit is expected to trigger a reshuffle in the Council of Ministers over which the Congress President and the Prime Minister will meet on Sunday. Anita Saluja