Sharma's views may fuel crisis in Cong states

The Congress today said downsizing of ministries in the states run by it, would not be an arbitrary affair but would conform to parameters like ability, popularity, and image of ministers while elevating or dropping them.

Congress spokes-man Anand Sharma said several factors would decide which ministers would be retained or dropped, including social and regional balance.

His remarks are likely to cause a crisis in states where the Congress is in power, serving to create an automatic constitu-ency of dissidents among the ministers who are already sore at being dropped.

The implications are clear - that ministers who had been dropped qualified as belonging to one of the above categories. "In that case, they should not have been made ministers in the first place," a Congress leader said reacting to Sharma's statement.

In Uttaranchal, all the 17 ministers handed over their resignations to Chief Minister ND Tewari, who has to prune the size of his ministry to 12 before July 7. In Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh also obtained the resignations of all his ministers.

Punjab Chief minister Amarinder Singh, who had to chop eight out of 25 ministers in his Cabinet due to downsizing, was likely to submit the list of names to be included in the reshuffle to party chief Sonia Gandhi on July 2, sources said.

He would hold discussions on the issue of downsizing with senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel and Mohsina Kidwai over the next two-three days, sources said.

Rebel leader and Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal was in town and held parleys with Kidwai.

"I am sure downsizing and reshuffle will not be used for political vendetta," Bhattal told reporters after the meeting leaving no one in any doubt what her fears were.

"It is not for the chief minister alone to decide. Everything has been left to the party president who would have the last word on it," Bhattal said adding "for the high command every one is equal and no one would be discriminated against."

Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi said she had asked all the members of her council of ministers to tender their resignations by tomorrow to enable her to limit the size of the ministry to 15 per cent of the strength of the Assembly.

However, while the chief minister got a number of resignations, some ministers said they would resign only upon getting the communiqué from her. The two Congress ministers in the government said they were still to receive a directive from their party.

Almost all members of the Assam ministry have tendered their resignations to enable Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi downsize the ministry as per the 91st constitutional amendment.

The ministers had sent their resignation papers following which the chief minister left for New Delhi today, sources said here.

Gogoi has rushed to the Capital to discuss the formation of the ministry with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he has to prune the size from 35 to 19 as per the stipulation.

Gogoi while admitting that downsizing "will be an unpleasant job" has reiterated that he "does not regard it as a challenge as all his ministerial colleagues have been cooperative".