Law minister Ashwani Kumar, who lists “wrestling” as one of his favourite pastimes, could be asked to put in his papers if the Supreme Court’s observations go against him and his ministry on May 8. After the CBI files a fresh affidavit on the “Coalgate” scam on May 6, the Supreme Court will hear the case on May 8.
Sources said the court’s observations were likely to be the deciding factor for Mr Kumar, who has told the Congress leadership that he has “done no wrong”. The party, however, feels that in case there are any adverse observations against the minister by the court, it would be difficult for the government to continue with him. Till then the party will back Mr Kumar to the hilt and counter the Opposition’s charges against the government on the coal scam. The BJP and the Left parties have demanded the immediate sacking of Mr Kumar.
The law minister as well as some officials in the Prime Minister’s Office could be in trouble for allegedly having made certain changes in the CBI’s draft report on “Coalgate”. The Supreme Court has harshly criticised the CBI for sharing the draft report with the law minister and other top bureaucrats before submitting it to the court. The CBI is also likely to reveal the names of senior officers in the law and coal ministries and the PMO and the role played by them in allotment of coal blocks in its fresh report to the Supreme Court next week.
Sources said the problem with Mr Kumar was also that he “does not have too many supporters within the organisation”. Also, the timing of the entire controversy could not have been worse for the Congress-led UPA-2, with Karnataka going to the polls this weekend and elections looming in key states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Corruption has emerged as the main poll plank for the Opposition.
The law minister, who was quizzed by top Congress leaders on Wednesday, had tried to defend himself by saying he had never called CBI director Ranjit Sinha but was holding a meeting to resolve a dispute between attorney-general Goolam E. Vahanvati and additional solicitor-general, Harin Raval. However, the ASG, in his letter to Mr Vahanvati, claimed that changes to the draft probe report were made at that meeting. The law minister also told Congress leaders that the Supreme Court had not yet indicted him, and he had done no wrong.