Ramesh may continue in Planning Board post

By A. Jayaram

BANGALORE, MAY 14. The Jairam Ramesh controversy might be allowed to die down and the AICC(I) Secretary remain in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board.

When contacted in Delhi, Mr. Ramesh declined to comment on reports in circulation in Bangalore that he had resigned. On Saturday, the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, took a similar stand and said `` there is a lot of confusion now, let clarity dawn all over''. He had been questioned about his reported (in a section of the Press) directive to Mr. Ramesh to resign in the light of his critical comments on the leadership of the AICC(I) President, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, and the prospects of the Congress(I) regaining power.

Meanwhile, the KPCC(I) came out in support of the appointment of Mr. Ramesh as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board. The party spokesman Mr. Mohan Kondajji, said that his appointment was not only because he was a functionary of the AICC(I) but also because he was an economist. Reacting to the reported criticism of the leader of the Janata Dal (United) in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. P.G.R. Sindhia, for ``unceremoniously sacking'' Mr. Jairam Ramesh, the spokesman said that all Congressmen were of the view that the leadership of Ms. Sonia Gandhi was not negotiable and ``we believe in the legacy of the Nehru family'' to take the country forward. It was the prerogative of the Chief Minister to appoint anyone suitable for a post in the interest of the State.

Mr. Kondajji said that Mr. Sindhia's outburst that the State Government had become an agency to provide employment to unemployed Congressmen was uncalled for. In fact, it was the JD (U) which had demanded employment for its leader, Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, and got him rehabilitated as Chairman of the Indo-French Commission.

Meanwhile, a member of the KPCC(I), Mr. V. S. Murthy, criticised Mr. Ramesh for questioning the leadership of Ms. Sonia Gandhi. He said Mr. Ramesh, who was picked by the party leadership for his academic attainments and given a high position though he was new to the party, had sought to kick the very ladder which enabled him to rise high. He was paying dearly for being talkative, Mr. Murthy said.

Mr. Ramesh, who graduated in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai), later qualified himself in management and economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S. He is a former adviser to the Planning Commission.

Mr. Ramesh differs from the general run of Congress(I) members in the State and it is perhaps for the first time the office of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board has gone to a member of a political party.

So far the office had been occupied by economists or those who had served in the Government in related departments unlike in the case of the Planning Commission which is generally headed by politicians belonging to the ruling party.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Regional
Previous : Somnath temple gets Rs. 5 crores for renovation
Next     : 'Govt. thinking of abolishing PU Education Board'