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Political Notes

	April 18, 2005

Talk of Cabinet reshuffle



Reports say that the much talked about reshuffle of the Union Cabinet is expected to take place after the Budget Session of Parliament ends in May. There are several people waiting in the wings for inclusion in the cabinet. One of them is JMM leader Shibu Soren who had quit the cabinet to become Chief Minister of Jharkhand for a brief stint. There are also reports that some Congressmen who have been pushed to Raj Bhavans in different states want to stage a comeback to active politics.



Manmohan Singh in Time’s Top Hundred



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is among those named by Time magazine as among

the 100 most influential people in the world along with US President Geoerge Bush and American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Other Third World leaders in the list include Chinese President Hu Jintao and North Korean leader Kim John II. The list also includes the Dalai Lama, former US president Bill Clinton and South African President Thabo Mbeki.

An Article in Time on Dr. Manmohan Singh by Amartya Sen says, “The man in the blue turban, despite his great success, has remained approachable and sympathetic to the underdogs of society.”

Some interesting names in the list include Al Qaeda terrorist Abu Mousab al Zarqawi, possible successor to the Papacy Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Dina Astita, an Indonesia teacher who survived the Tsunami.



Government files second affidavit in defence deals case



The Defence Ministry has filed another affidavit, its second, in the Supreme Court saying that it had referred 20 more arms deals stuck during the NDA rule to the CBI for investigation. The affidavit said the Government is committed to taking strict action against officials and authorities including the former Defence Minister (George Fernandes) if it is found that purchases were made in violation of rules and regulations.

The filing of the second affidavit comes after the furore over the first affidavit which reportedly gave a clean chit to George Fernandes in the procurement of arms during and after the Kargil war. A section of the Congress party and the Left parties had criticised the Defence Ministry for filing the affidavit without getting it cleared at the highest level. There were also allegations that the changes made in the affidavit draft by the Attorney General had not been carried out. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee had then tried to undo the damage by saying that no clear chit had been given to George Fernandes in the defence deals.

Meanwhile, Justice S.N. Phukan, who had probed the Tehelka expose on defence deals has said that he did not find anything against former Defence Minister Geoerge Fernandes. But he said that he had pointed out several faults in some earlier defence deals entered into during previous Congress regimes.



CBI autonomy, a myth : Director U.S. Misra

Director CBI, U.S. Misra, has said that the concept of the autonomy of the CBI

is a myth. In a newspaper interview, he admitted that the investigating agency comes under political pressure and pulls from different quarters. He said the job of the CBI is to strike at the roots of corruption, but the rules and regulations regarding the functioning of the agency constantly pull it back.

Referring to a specific case, Misra said that the CBI had found sufficient evidence to press for prosecution of a former Petroleum Minister. He said the agency filed for closure of the case since it did not get the sanction. Misra admitted that the moment a case is registered by the CBI and reported by the media, phones start ringing and influential people begin pleading.



Sanjay Nirupam joins the Congress

The Congress has decided to admit former Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Nirupam, who was recently expelled from the Shiv Sena. But he may not be fielded for the Rajya Sabha by-election to fill the vacancy created by his resignation from the House. The Nationalist Congress Party has already staked its claim to the seat on the plea that it has more MLAs than the Congess in the Maharastra assembly.