India: Congress in talks on government formation, DMK sulking

By M Rama Rao, India Editor, Asian Tribune

New Delhi, 21 May (Asiantribune.com): DMK, NCP and other allies of the Congress allies are sulking even as the official formalities for the swearing in of Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister for the second term are completed.

The big event will take place on Friday, Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on Wednesday after Manmohan Singh along with Sonia Gandhi met President Pratibha Patil and staked his claim.

With every party outside the Left and BJP falling head over heels to be by his side, the government has the backing of 322 MPs. For a simple majority the government needs 272 members on the treasury benches. Pre-poll alliances gave the Congress 274 members.

While focus is on who will be in and who will be left out in the ministerial sweepstakes, attention is equally focused on behind the scenes parleys the Congress has mounted to cajole the allies and to send the message that 2009 is not 2004 when the Grand Old Party was literally at the mercy of mercurial allies.

The changed scene is clear from the reluctance of the Congress to put together a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) for the United Progressive Alliance, it is heading for the second time.

One reason for the reluctance is that the Comrades virtually made the Congress a hostage to the CMP in the first edition of UPA.

Secondly, the Congress leadership feels that there is neither urgency nor a necessity for a CMP when there is a 100-day action plan in place already. Mamata Bannerjee who flew in from Kolkata to attend the first meeting of UPA, has suggested that a road map for the alliance will be in order.

With 19 MPs, she is asking for seven ministerial berths. She may get away with her wish list. The

DMK doesn’t appear to be that lucky. The Congress is unwilling to offer no more than 2 cabinet berths, one post of junior minister with an independent portfolio and some four posts of junior ministers, who will report to a Cabinet Minister.

The Party is staking claim for three cabinet berths demanding parity with Trinamul Congress and pointing out that with an independent in tow, its actual tally is 19.

Till the time of reporting, the Congress has remained adamant. Pranab Mukherjee, the time tested trouble shooter of the Congress motored down to Tamil Nadu Bhavan to ‘persuade’ Muthavel Karunanidhi. ‘My talks are inconclusive’, he said while leaving the Chief Minister’s suite.

Congress is unwilling to take as ministers TR Baku and A Raja, saying that their record in office was not without blemished. Both had incurred the wrath of Manmohan Singh with their ‘poor score card’, it said. While Raja had earned a bad name in the spectrum controversy as Communications Minister, Baalu got a name for his penchant to chop top officials of his Transport Ministry.

Pranab reportedly conveyed to DMK chief that his eldest son could be made a Cabinet Minister while daughter who is a member of the Rajya Sabha could be made a Minister of State with Independent charge. He also offered to take in Dayanidhi Maran as a Cabinet Minister in-charge of his old Communications portfolio.

Maran is back in favour of his Thatha but that may not be enough. Because, the DMK is seeing the offer as a reward to Maran’s good equation with the Congress leadership.

The DMK quota is stuck on Baalu- Raja tangle for the present.

Among the Congress leaders, Pranab Mukherjee will be moving to finance. He is shedding foreign affairs as his advancing age doesn’t allow him to be a frequent traveler. His successor at the Foreign Office could Kapil Sibal, a leading Supreme Court lawyer, whom the Congress often fields to take on its adversaries in Parliament and on TV debates. Others in the race for this job are Salman Khurshid, who did a stint at the Foreign Office as a junior minister more than a decade ago during Narasimha Rao regime, and Kamlnath, the commerce minister in the outgoing ministry.

P Chidambaram, who has returned to the Lok Sabha for the seventh time from Sivganga, will continue to bat at the Home Office. Like wise A K Antony will remain at the defence ministry...

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar is said to be not keen on a ministerial berth this time. He is proposing the name of his daughter Supriya for a Minister of State (MOS) of post and of Praful Patel to the cabinet rank. Patel held the civilian aviation ministry

The newly elected Parliament will meet for its first session from June 2. It will be a brief session. Parliament will meet for its budget session sometime in July.

Text of letter from Prez Pratibha Patil inviting Manmohan Singh to form the government

Dear Dr Manmohan Singhji

My heartiest felicitations to you on being chosen as the Leader of the Congress parliamentary party.

Having regard to the fact that you head the single largest party and the largest pre-election alliance and taking note of the letters of support enabling you to command majority support of the newly constituted 15th Lok Sabha, I have the pleasure to appoint you the prime minister and request you to advice me as to the names of others to be appointed in the council of ministers.

I propose to administer the oath of office and secrecy on Friday, May 22, 2009, at Rashtrapati Bhavan at a mutually convenient time.

-Asian Tribune -