M A I N   N E W S

Jagmohan placated, to assume charge today
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 3
Top BJP leadership today seemed to have placated a peeved Tourism and Programme Implementation Minister Jagmohan, bringing him around to continue in the Union Cabinet.

Ram Vilas Paswan along with his Minister of State Ravi Shankar Prasad at the Ministry of Coal and Mines after Paswan assumed charge as Union Minister, in New Delhi on Monday. — PTI photo

Mr Jagmohan, who had been sulking since the Saturday’s Cabinet expansion and reshuffle in which he was removed from the Urban Development Ministry has apparently been given assurances by the senior BJP leaders, including the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Home Ministry, Mr L.K. Advani, following which he has changed his decision to continue in the Union Cabinet.

Mr Jagmohan, speaking to the mediapersons this evening did not deny that he had threatened to resign from the Union Cabinet, but kept insisting that it was against his principles to disclose what he had spoken to various people in confidence. He said he would be attending his new office from tomorrow.

Senior BJP leaders, including the External Affairs and Defence Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Minister of State in PMO and Planning Vijay Goel and the new Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar made a beeline to the residence of Mr Jagmohan at Lodhi Estate today after there were reports in media of his being upset with the party leadership over his being removed.

Mr Brajesh Mishra, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, also met Mr Jagmohan at his residence this afternoon, following which he seemed to have changed his mind to resign from the Union Cabinet. Mr Mishra was accompanied by Mr Vijay Goel.

Mr Jagmohan on Saturday while speaking to people close to him had said that he did not want to continue in the Union Cabinet after his removal. He had also met the Home Minister on Saturday night and told him that it was on his insistence that he was in politics and it was unfair being removed in this manner.

Mr Jagmohan said he had met the Prime Minister on Saturday night. He although did not want to continue in the Union Cabinet after his removal. He had also met the Home Minister on Saturday night and told him that it was on his insistence that he was in politics and it was unfair being removed in this manner.

Mr Jagmohan said he had met the Prime Minister on Saturday night. He although did not disclose what they spoke but he apparently expressed his unhappiness on the issue to him. He also said he spoke to the Prime Minister and Mr Jaswant Singh on telephone yesterday, besides meeting various leaders from the Delhi unit of BJP.

It was clear that the Delhi unit of the BJP, under pressure from the builders and land mafia of the Capital, had brought about the removal of Mr Jagmohan. The former Urban Development minister refused to say anything on this and said, “I will not talk of any pressure. You people know exactly what is happening”.

He added that the government should work on certain principles. When asked pointedly whether he was angry with the BJP leadership over his removal, Mr Jagmohan said, “ it is not the question of being angry or happy. It is the question of principles”.

However, he had no explanations to what kept him away from assuming charge of his new ministry for two days. “It was a Sunday yesterday and if you want I would assume charge from this evening itself,” he said when faced with a barrage of questions over the issue.

There were reports that Mr Jagmohan, who had been on a mission to clean up the Capital from the unauthorised constructions and land grabbing by the backing of the politicians, had been assured by the various leaders visiting him that his incomplete work would be carried forward in the same manner by the new minister, Mr Ananth Kumar.

He has apparently written a letter to the Prime Minister seeking his assurance on his mission being carried forward. Besides he has also assurances that he would be kept informed of the progress that was made on the various projects which he had undertaken and of which now there was a possibility of remaining incomplete.

He also did not deny that he had written a letter to the Prime Minister. But again refused to divulge the details of it saying that you would never come to know about the contents of the letter.

While pointing out that changing of the portfolio was the prerogative of the Prime Minister, Mr Jagmohan stressed that he had not compromised with any of his principles. There is a philosophy, ideology and principles behind how I work and I would continue to work on them.

He also sought to dispel report that people were happy with his removal. He said that a certain lobby could be happy but people in general were not. He said there were a large number of people who visited his residence from the morning and were also insisting on going on a dharna for his being brought back to the old ministry, but he was not in favour of it. He said that vested interests were planting reports about general public being happy with his removal. He added that he would continue to give his best in his new ministry also.

PMO defuses crisis
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 3
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has defused a potential crisis in the past 48 hours caused by sulking Union Ministers whose portfolios were changed in the September 1 reshuffle. The Vajpayee government took Jagmohan’s threat seriously which is evident from the fact that none other than External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh had gone to Jagmohan’s house to placate him on the evening of the reshuffle itself.

Well-placed sources said today that Jagmohan had a fair idea of his ouster from the Urban Development Ministry (where he came to be known as the demolition man) in the reshuffle and had made it a point to attend the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.

Sitting in the front row, Mr Jagmohan had engaged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in a conversation on this subject before the function started and expressed reservation about being shifted out of the Urban Development Ministry.

Mr Vajpayee gave a patient hearing to Mr Jagmohan but refused to make any commitment. It is the Prime Minister’s prerogative to pick his ministerial team and distribute the portfolios as per his choice.

An unbudging Prime Minister changed Mr Jagmohan’s portfolio and bureaucrat-turned-politician was so upset that he contemplated resigning from the Cabinet as well as the BJP.

Realising that Mr Jagmohan’s exit from the government and party could provide a handle to the main opposition —the Congress — to beat the BJP with, Mr Vajpayee’s trusted trouble-shooter Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and the newly appointed pointsperson Vijay Goel went to Mr Jagmohan’s residence on Monday morning.

Mr Jagmohan, who had won over the hearts of Delhiites with his relentless demolition drive against illegal encroachments in the Capital, had of late become a nightmare to his own party leaders who had been pressuring the government to either restrain him or shift him in view of his style of functioning.

It is understood that Mr Jagmohan was deeply upset over his shunting out and was in no mood to calm down. According to sources close to Mr Jagmohan, he had agreed to take over the Tourism Ministry after the Prime Minister’s emissaries gave him a blanket assurance that he would be given back Urban Development Ministry after the municipal elections in Delhi were over early next year.

PMO sources, however, insisted that no such assurance had been given. They said the Prime Minister had taken a conscious and hard stand on not buckling under pressure at the hands of those Union Ministers who were angry with the reshuffle, be it the ministers from the BJP or the allies.