Prime Minister Manmohan Singh takes charge of Finance Minister from Chidambaram as he given the new portfolio as home minster after shivraj patil resigns.
Dr Singh becomes the first Prime Minister since Mr Rajiv Gandhi to concurrently hold the Finance portfolio, though he — unlike the latter in 1987-88 — may not be able to present a full-fledged Union Budget for 2009-10 given that the present Government’s scheduled tenure is limited to the next four-five months.
The ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance has been under tremendous pressure in recent months to take decisive steps on both the internal security as well as economic fronts — the urgency for which has mounted in the wake of last week’s terrorist siege at Mumbai and the cascading impact of the global financial meltdown.
The stepping down of Mr Patil, long overdue according to many, is viewed as a desperate effort by the Government to show it is serious in tackling terror.
The decision to secure the Minister’s resignation was apparently taken at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Saturday, where senior leaders, including the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, held that it was necessary to pin down responsibility on those who were seen as not doing enough.
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