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Vajpayee tempers FM's resolve to quit for now

Aditi Phadnis

The saga of ongoing tension between the Sangh Parivar and the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government has got a new twist. It now transpires that Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had contemplated resigning after the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh chief, Dattopant Thengadi, said he was a "criminal". He has still not abandoned that idea.

Thengadi issued another statement on Tuesday in Dehradoon, again criticising the finance minister.

It is no secret that Sinha has been unhappy and enervated by repeated attacks from the Sangh. However, the Prime Minister's staunch defence of him in the BJP Parliamentary Party and Arun Jaitley's bracing speech, tempered the resolve to quit.

When contacted Sinha refused to comment on the issue. However, sources close to him say he would like to make a graceful exit from the finance ministry rather than having to fight the party and the Sangh every inch of the way.

This move could cause a larger reshuffle that appears almost certain before the next session of Parliament.

The question is: who will Sinha's successor be. While HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi is an obvious candidate-given his proximity to the Sangh-Sinha's own suggestion is reportedly that the government would be better served by a professional than a politician finance minister-like say member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, IG Patel, or current governor of Andhra Pradesh, C Rangarajan, top government sources said.

But where will Sinha be accommodated? Having been a part of the Cabinet Committee on Security and one of the four seniormost ministers in the government, choices for him are severely limited.

LK Advani is not likely to be moved out of the home ministry and Jaswant Singh may retain external affairs only with the Prime Minister holding defence.

This means Sinha would have to be utilised elsewhere. Having been finance minister for three years, Sinha would like to try his hand at another job. The move to another ministry will not be an unpleasant surprise for him.

There is another problem. Replacing a finance minister is a major political decision. Replacing him with a non-politician is even more significant. Whether the Prime Minister will be able to weather the storm that will follow this, is a moot question.

Sources in government said that C Rangarajan's appointment could be a political choice. Although Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and the Telugu Desam Party (which forms a large chunk of support to the NDA government) are unlikely to join the government, Rangarajan could be the insurance policy which Vajpayee would like to take out to ensure the TDP's continuing support to the NDA.

Naidu had sought the services of Rangarajan as governor by name and the NDA government had promptly obliged. Naidu is said to be very close to Rangarajan and respects his abilities as an economist. Therefore, it is not inconceivable to see Rangarajan as a Naidu nominee.

IG Patel was considered for finance ministership in 1998, but had pleaded poor health. He is said to have recovered since.

Does this mean there will be a qualitative change in the nature of the policies? A U-turn on economic reform maybe? Informed sources rule this out.

"The Prime Minister is not in a mood to give in to Dattopant Thengadi," sources said. Liberalisation will continue but the man steering it is likely to have a different face.

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