It boils down to downsizing, CM breathes easy

Uttaranchal Chief Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari here today suggested to Congress president Sonia Gandhi during an hour-long meeting that a for...

Uttaranchal Chief Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari here today suggested to Congress president Sonia Gandhi during an hour-long meeting that a formula be evolved for pruning ministries in Congress-ruled states. Sources disclosed that the veteran leader made the suggestion to avoid any conflict with ministers who might hold him responsible for their ouster from the ministry.

Tiwari’s short visit to the Capital had sparked off speculation that he had been summoned by Sonia for an eventual shift to the Centre. However, Tiwari said, ‘‘It is all speculation — 100 per cent wrong.’’ He also denied that he was under any pressure to quit.

The Congress high command, which normally has the last word in the selection of ministers, has not shown any inclination to undertake any such exercise to make it easier for the chief ministers to limit the size of their ministries. Also, it has not evinced any interest in responding to suggestions that it convene a meeting of party chief ministers to evolve common norms for limiting the size of ministries.

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A new law enacted by the NDA Government warrants that all ministries conform to a maximum size limit. Most Congress-ruled states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, have oversized ministries.

Tiwari’s own team has 17 members, and the new law requires that he does away with five of them. He told reporters after the meeting that his discussions with Sonia focused on downsizing of his ministry.

The sources said that the party high command was in no mood to get Tiwari to the Centre. A Brahmin with a mass appeal, Tiwari was three-time CM of Uttar Pradesh. He has held important positions at the Centre. Besides, he had led a revolt in the party along with Arjun Singh during the prime ministership of P.V. Narasimha Rao.