New Delhi: Home Minister Shivraj Patil seems to be skating on thin ice.
His initial appointment as head of the home ministry had come as a surprise and had been laid at Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s doorstep. However, sources say that after a series of faux pas by the minister, even her patience is wearing thin.
At a meeting of senior party leaders last week, at which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi both were present, Gandhi had, for the first time, upbraided Patil for the developments in Malegoan.
The blasts in Malegaon were being discussed and Patil is reported to have said that the ministry had expected such trouble. At that point the Congress president is said to have asked him what his ministry was doing if it had prior information.
And according to senior leaders, this is not the first time that Patil has been found wanting by the Congress leadership.
It appears that he also jumped the gun when he talked about the construction of a bullet proof fence around the Babri Masjid -Ram Janambhoomi complex without consulting party leaders first.
Senior party leaders say Patil never really managed to settle down into his job in the North Block and has been close to being shifted out for a while. One of the main reasons why he has managed to survive so far is because of the Prime Minister’s reluctance to make any major changes in his cabinet.
The Prime Minister has now managed to establish his leadership and develop an equation with his senior ministers and is not inclined to rock the boat. However, after recent developments, it appears all that may change.
