New Delhi, May 11
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today handed over the additional charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice to Kapil Sibal and asked CP Joshi to look after the Railway portfolio following vacancies caused by the resignations of Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Bansal.

President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the resignations of the two ministers who were forced to put in their papers by the party leadership in the wake of allegations of bribery and interfering with the CBI probe in the Coalgate scam.

Sibal is currently holding the portfolio of Telecommunications while Joshi is the Road Transport and Highways Minister.

On his part, the former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar maintained that he had resigned to put an end to unnecessary controversies even though the Supreme Court did not make any adverse remarks against him in the CBI coal blocks allocation case in the wake of the Executive having perused a report.

Addressing an impromptu press conference at his official residence, the former Law Minister said: “My conscience remains clear and my stand will be vindicated.”

“I tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister yesterday while thanking him for giving me the opportunity to be a part of his team. I have done so to put an end to unnecessary controversy in a matter which is before the Supreme Court and in which no adverse comments have been made against me in any manner whatsoever.

My conscience is clear and I believe that I will stand vindicated because truth and justice will prevail’’. Kumar proclaimed he quit the office as a “loyal foot soldier of the party.” The Punjab MP denied that he has lost the confidence of the party leadership amid reports that the Congress arrived at a decision on Bansal and Kumar after a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. 

President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the resignations of PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar, who were forced to put in their papers by the party leadership on Friday

Sibal is currently holding the portfolio of Telecommunications while Joshi is the Road Transport and Highways Minister

“My conscience remains clear and my stand will be vindicated,”  he said.