With Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee finally forwarding Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah’s resignation to the President this evening, the decks have been cleared for the induction of his father Farooq Abdullah into the Union Cabinet.The elder Abdullah is likely to be sworn in some time before the budget session of Parliament, due to begin in mid-February. Official sources said Abdullah’s induction may be part of a larger reshuffle that could see Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, waiting impatiently in the wings, rehabilitated at the Centre. Omar had resigned immediately after the Jammu and Kashmir elections saying he wanted to devote himself to state politics. He has hardly attended office since then. The fact that his resignation was not forwarded for three months was simply a question of political modalities. Vajpayee was waiting for Farooq to formally join the Rajya Sabha, which he did at the start of the winter session, so that one Abdullah could be replaced with another to give the National Conference continuing representation in the Government. Once Parliament adjourned sine die, the PM went through the formality of accepting Omar’s resignation. However, a question mark remains over the resignation of Minister of State for Heavy Industry Raman Singh who put in his papers following his appointment as president of the BJP state unit in Chhattisgarh. The decision on him is linked to the fate of another BJP Minister of State, Vasundhara Raje who now heads the party unit in Rajasthan.She is reported to be keen to continue as a Central minister and has told both the PM and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani that her status as a minister in the Vajpayee Government is an added advantage in the runup to the assembly elections in Rajasthan, due in November next year.Official circles said that the PM and DPM are yet to take a final decision on these two BJP ministers.
