Minister Ananth Kumar Battles Serious Illness, in London for Treatment
New Delhi: Senior cabinet minister Ananth Kumar, 59, has taken seriously ill and is undergoing treatment abroad. Kumar is one of the few ministers in the Narendra Modi government to have served in the earlier BJP-led NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and currently holds the parliamentary affairs and chemicals & fertilisers portfolio.
He is currently undergoing investigation and treatment in London for prospective pancreatic cancer, multiple sources have told The Wire.
Kumar has now been in London for two weeks and sources say that he may even be shifted to the United States for further specialised treatment.
This is a near replay of the situation when Goa chief minister and former defence minister Manohar Parrikar, who has been indisposed for months now, initially went for treatment to the US. Kumar has not been attending office or signing files in recent weeks. Prime Minister Modi has yet to formally reallocate his portfolio.
The government’s silence over Ananth Kumar’s illness is a near identical replay of the manner in which it handled the deterioration in finance minister Arun Jaitley’s health in the run up to his kidney transplant. At the time, the government did not make his condition known publicly until this correspondent reported on Jaitley’s health situation in The Wire on April 5, 2018.
The facts were subsequently confirmed by the finance minister but until then, the entire media preferred to remain mum despite the fact that Jaitley had been seriously ill and not attending office in North Block for some time.
In most democracies, the state of the health of leaders – especially those holding crucial and vitally important portfolios – is a matter of public knowledge and disclosure. Citizens demand that they be kept informed. In the US, there are even laid down procedures for this, like the publication of the medical results of the president.
The government’s reluctance to part with information is mirrored by the Indian media’s squeamishness about reporting the health issues of cabinet ministers. This is almost reminiscent of the days of the former Soviet Union when the health of the top leaders of the Politburo was akin to a state secret.
Former cabinet secretary B.K. Chaturvedi says, “As per rules of business in our system, if a Union cabinet minister is seriously indisposed and is unable to attend office for a long period then the president must immediately reallocate the portfolio to someone else so that the smooth functioning of the government is not hampered. The president normally gives a reasoned order to this effect. But the government must also disclose that the portfolio is being reallocated because the present incumbent is seriously indisposed.”
As is apparent, this has not been done in all the three cases where senior ministers have been involved. Jaitley’s illness was kept a closely guarded secret, leading to much uncertainty in the critical finance ministry. Finally, Piyush Goyal was given additional charge but then some events were addressed by both ministers leading to embarrassment and confusion. Jaitley is still not fully recovered and faces a huge infection threat which has led his doctors to veto public outings.
Several global investment managers say that the uncertainty in the finance ministry earlier had created some uncertainly in the minds of investors. This is only natural.
In the case of Parrikar, virtually all administration in Goa has come to a standstill as he holds more than 50 portfolios. Sources say that months of battling a life threatening disease has lead Parrikar, who is currently hospitalised in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and is likely to be flown to the US, to again tell Modi to find a replacement.
In the case of Ananth Kumar there is huge uncertainty whether he will be able to handle the winter session of parliament. In fact, Kumar, a five-term MP from Bangalore south, actually delayed his treatment because of the Karnataka elections and then the no confidence motion.
This secrecy about health is universal across political parties and leaders. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi goes abroad periodically for treatment but has never revealed the nature of her ailment. Leaders argue that matters of health belong entirely in the private domain but how private can their health condition be when the functioning of the government gets affected.
courtesy : thewire.in
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“Full prepared..going to win,” Congress MP KC Venugopal ahead of Kerala polls
EC not functioning as a neutral institution: Venugopal
Congress MP K. C. Venugopal on Monday raised concerns over the election schedule announced by the Election Commission of India for the upcoming Kerala Assembly election, questioning the timing of the poll dates and alleging that the schedule leaves limited time for campaigning.
Speaking to news agency ANI in Delhi after the poll panel announced elections in five states and Union Territories, Venugopal said that the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are fully prepared for the elections and confident of victory. At the same time, he questioned the pattern of dates announced by the Election Commission.
“We are fully prepared, we are going to win the elections... You can see how the Election Commission has set the dates. The first phase of elections is on the 9th, nominations are due until the 23rd, scrutiny is on the 24th, nominations can be withdrawn until the 26th, and after that, there are 11 days for campaigning,” he said.
“As for Kerala, there is Easter and Good Friday in the first week...The Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier... The counting date is on May 4th, so what was the point of holding elections in Kerala so early? What is their intention behind holding elections on the same day in Kerala, Puducherry, and Assam?... We are confident that we will win, but the people of the country are seeing the biased attitude of the Election Commission...,” he added.
He further stated that his party was ready for elections irrespective of the dates announced by the poll body.
“We are going to win the election. India's strategy has been set up. And we are all ready for winning this election. But one thing as far as declaring election, even though they are giving only for five days, we are going to win the election. We have no problem,” he said.
Detailing the poll schedule while questioning the time available for campaigning, he stated, “but you can see the pattern of date which the election commission announced. Yesterday they declared election, and today they notified us. The first phase of election on April 9th, filing of nomination will be over on the 23rd of this month, 24th scrutiny, 26th withdrawal of nomination. After 26, four plus seven, 11 days campaign.”
“As far as Kerala is concerned, April first week is a holy week. The holiday week means, Good Friday is there. Nobody will do anything on Good Friday. Easter is the big festival. These festivals are natural, you have to see that. Among the 11 days, working days, two, three days will go for holidays. Then hardly seven, eight days for campaigning in this election for candidates,” the Congress MP questioned.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier if there was a need for an early election schedule.
Questioning the urgency behind placing Kerala in the first phase of polling, he added that the counting date is much later.
“Which is the date of counting? Fourth May. Then what is the urgency of putting Kerala in the first phase without giving sufficient time for candidates? And putting Kerala, Puducherry, Assam together, what is the intention behind that?” Venugopal questioned.
He also alleged that the Election Commission was not functioning as a neutral institution.
“The Election commission is completely losing that capacity as a neutral player. You can see 14 of our prime minister's programs over and on the 15th they announce the election, 16th notification comes,” he said.
Venugopal further stated that such tactics would not affect the Congress’ prospects in the election.
“They think that this type of techniques and tactics, because of these techniques and tactics, UDF is going to lose, and Congress is going to lose. This is their complete dream only. This is not going to happen. We are very much confident at any cost, whether they are not giving any time also, we are going to win the election,” he said.
“But the people of India are watching this. The tricks of the election commission. To restrict the campaign, people of India are watching. This I want to bring into the notice of the nation. That's all,” Venugopal said.
The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for the Kerala Assembly election. Polling in the state will be held in a single phase on April 9 while the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4.
