Is the Congress looking to mould the Home Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, as its chief troubleshooter on difficult economic matters, now that erstwhile Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has bowed out of active politics?

It does seem so, going by the latest move to appoint Mr Chidambaram as head of Empowered Group of Ministers on telecom.

Unlike the seat of a Finance Minister, the head of EGoM on telecom is a controversy-ridden hot seat that many in the political class would prefer to keep away from.

For the spectrum scam of 2008 has charged the decision-making environment on spectrum pricing with alleged motives.

The Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, had recused himself from heading the EGoM after Mr Mukherjee resigned from the Union Cabinet to contest Presidential elections.

Mr Chidambaram’s supporters were quick to point out that his appointment as EGoM head is another proof of his mettle to take up difficult jobs — just as he readily agreed to become Home Minister in November 2008.

However, his detractors in the BJP see the latest move to appoint Mr Chidambaram as the EGoM head as making him the “policeman” in the case. The Opposition parties led by BJP have been trying hard to drag Mr Chidambaram into the 2G case.

The rules of the recast EGoM are going to be slightly different as it will henceforth, not be fully empowered — it will only be partially empowered. All the decisions on spectrum pricing will have to be vetted by the Cabinet. Simply put, EGoM cannot take the final decision on pricing.

As telecom-related controversies abound on Mr Chidambaram’s role as Finance Minister during UPA-I’s tenure, only time will tell whether he comes out unscathed and prove his detractors wrong.

For the moment, Mr Chidambaram’s reputation for competence and efficiency may hold him in good stead in his new role, say economy watchers.

> krsrivats@thehindu.co.in

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