PM pulls up Ramesh for his critical comment on MHA

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday pulled up environment minister Jairam Ramesh for his critical comments against home ministry in relation to China as he asked him not to speak about functioning of other ministries.

Singh spoke to Ramesh and emphatically told him that there was "no confusion" in the government over its approach towards China with which it wanted to have "constructive engagement".

Singh told Ramesh that it was "advisable for Cabinet colleagues not to make comments on the functioning of other ministries, especially with regard to relationship with important neighbours like China," the PMO sources said.

The Prime Minister's blunt message to the environment ministry came two days after Ramesh said in Beijing that the home ministry was "overly defensive" and "alarmist" in its approach towards entry of Chinese companies in India.

"There is no confusion in our policies towards China and we continue to strive for constructive engagement with Beijing," Singh told Ramesh.

Ramesh, while talking about the India-China warmth developed during the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, had suggested that the home ministry needed to be "much more relaxed" in its approach to Chinese investments in India.

The home ministry also snubbed Ramesh for his comment, saying no discrimination was being meted out to Chinese companies.

"It is wrong to say that the security establishment was biased against the Chinese," home secretary G K Pillai said.

"Chinese companies are already present in India in a big way. They are working in a variety of sectors, including in telecommunications sector. I don't think there is any discrimination happening from the government's side," he said.

Ramesh on Saturday had said that the security establishment was putting "needless" restrictions on Chinese investments in India as "we are imagining demons where there are none".

His comments came in the context of recent reports that India had barred import of telecom equipment from major Chinese firm Huawei, especially in the border areas following security concerns.

The Congress party is also unhappy over Ramesh's remarks, with a senior leader saying, "An adverse comment against the policy and functioning of a ministry as sensitive as home affairs, that, too in a foreign land, cannot be justified. If there are differences of opinion over an issue, these have to be resolved at party and government fora."

When asked to comment, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said, "Let the minister come back and throw light on what he has said. He can tell whether there was any confusion about what he said."