The Hindu Business Line : Chidambaram made Home Minister as Patil steps down

New Delhi, Nov. 30 The aftermath of the most audacious and deadly terrorist attack on Indian soil has claimed its first major victim: the Union Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil.

Mr Patil, who had been under fire over a spate of nationwide terror strikes including the latest one in Mumbai, tendered his resignation here on Sunday.

The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has been allocated the Home portfolio in place of Mr Patil, who owned moral responsibility for the attacks in the country’s financial capital that left nearly 200 dead and many more injured.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, will henceforth take direct charge of the Finance Ministry, following Mr Chidambaram’s move to the adjacent office of North Block.

Concurrent holding

Dr Manmohan Singh

Dr Singh becomes the first Prime Minister since Mr Rajiv Gandhi to concurrently hold the Finance portfolio, though he — unlike the latter in 1987-88 — may not be able to present a full-fledged Union Budget for 2009-10 given that the present Government’s scheduled tenure is limited to the next four-five months.

The ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance has been under tremendous pressure in recent months to take decisive steps on both the internal security as well as economic fronts — the urgency for which has mounted in the wake of last week’s terrorist siege at Mumbai and the cascading impact of the global financial meltdown.

The stepping down of Mr Patil, long overdue according to many, is viewed as a desperate effort by the Government to show it is serious in tackling terror.

The decision to secure the Minister’s resignation was apparently taken at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Saturday, where senior leaders, including the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, held that it was necessary to pin down responsibility on those who were seen as not doing enough.

Mr Shivraj Patil

Mr Patil offered then to quit, which was endorsed by the party high command.

‘Right’ signals

Dr Singh taking over the reins of Finance is similarly intended to send the ‘right’ message on the other immediate problem confronting the country — the threat of a slowdown and the need for concrete fiscal, monetary and other policy measures on a war-footing.

But there are also those who argue that the present situation demands a full-time Finance Minister, with some — like the industrialist, Mr Rahul Bajaj — even suggesting the name of Dr C. Rangarajan (former Chairman of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council) for the job.

This is more so when the Prime Minister is already over-loaded and holding additional charge of Ministries not currently allocated to others — including Information & Broadcasting, Environment & Forests, and Coal.