PM sees red at Ramesh's China statement

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday scolded Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for criticizing the Home Ministry's policy on China and asked him not to comment about other ministries.

Singh spoke to Ramesh and told him that there was "no confusion" in the government about 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," said sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

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

Ramesh, on Saturday, said in Beijing that the Home Ministry was "overly defensive" and "alarmist" about allowing Chinese companies in India.

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 security establishment was putting "needless" restrictions on Chinese investments in India as "we are imagining demons where there are none", he had said.

The Home Ministry 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.

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 at Ramesh's statements. "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," said Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed.