NEW DELHI, July 5: The fate of the two union ministers, the minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and the steel minister RCP Singh, are still hanging in balance because they will cease to be Members of Parliament on Thursday when their current Rajya Sabha term ends.
Both of them have not been re-nominated for the recently-held Rajya Sabha elections by their respective parties. Both the Ministers will lose their cabinet seats if they don’t get elected as MPs in the six months after their tenure ends on July 7.
A person can remain a minister up to six months after ceasing to be a member of either House but normally it does not happen unless their parties have some plans. The BJP hasn’t re-nominated Naqvi while the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar dropped his one-time close aide and number two in his Janata Dal (United) party from the list of RS candidates. Nitish Kumar was reportedly unhappy with Singh because of his alleged hobnobbing with the senior partner in the government, the BJP.
While Singh is believed to be joining the BJP soon after which the ruling party may consider some rewards for him, Naqvi is being speculated as a possible NDA candidate for the post of vice-president the elections for which is scheduled to be held next month, or may be appointed governor or Lieutenant Governor of some state or Union Territory.
The BJP had clarified on Monday that Singh hasn’t joined their party so far after a picture of him being welcomed in Telangana by BJP leaders had triggered speculations. One of the openings for the two leaders may be nominating them to the Upper House. Seven Nominated seats to the Rajya Sabha are still vacant which are likely to be filled after the Presidential elections later this month.
(Manas Dasgupta)