Defence portfolio for Pant?

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, OCT. 12. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, is all set to expand, yet again, his Council of Ministers by inducting at least two new faces. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Monday.

In all likelihood, Mr. Vajpayee is going to find himself a full- time Defence Minister, leaving Mr. Jaswant Singh to devote himself entirely to manage the External Affairs Ministry. Even before the outbreak of the post-September 11 Afghan crisis, Mr. Vajpayee was reported to be toying with the idea of having a full-time Defence Minister. The fast-changing defence scenario in India's neighbourhood had made a full-time Defence Minister almost mandatory.

However, Mr. Vajpayee was also keen on ensuring that Mr. George Fernandes, who had resigned as Defence Minister in the wake of the Tehelka expose, would not take offence. By giving Mr. Jaswant Singh the additional charge of Defence Ministry, Mr. Vajpayee was trying to keep Mr. Fernandes in good humour. Nonetheless, it is believed that ever since the strategic environment around India began changing, Mr. Fernandes himself pleaded with Mr. Vajpayee that he could - and should - have a full-time Defence Minister.

For now Mr. K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, is reported to be the front-runner for Defence Minister. Apart from the fact that Mr. Vajpayee holds Mr. Pant in high esteem, he has also had the experience of presiding over the Defence Ministry during the Rajiv Gandhi era. In any case, Mr. Pant has been inducted as an intimate member of Mr. Vajpayee's strategic team, ever since he was designated official interlocutor in the now stalled ``peace dialogue'' in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. Vajpayee is also said to be thinking of rehabilitating Mr. Hiren Pathak, who had to quit as Minister of State in the Defence Ministry after he was indicted by a Gujarat court; since then Mr. Pathak has received some legal relief, and his reinduction, it is deemed, would not invite any adverse notice.

The Prime Minister, however, is still uncertain whether to reinduct Mr. Fernandes, though the advice available to him is that pending an official exoneration by the Venkataswami Commission, he could be brought back to any ministry other than Defence.

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