Of course Shivraj Patil was close to Sonia Gandhi.
As Lok Sabha Speaker during the stint of P V Narasimha Rao as the Prime Minister; he was instrumental in bringing parliamentary standing committees.
During her initial days as MP and chairperson of Congress Parliamentary party in 1998; Sonia Gandhi depended a lot on Shivraj Patil for guidance in parliamentary matters.
In 2001 after Madhavrao Scindia died in an air crash, Shivraj Patil was made deputy leader of Congress in Lok Sabha.
Shivraj Patil had lost the 2004 Lok Sabha polls but he was made Home Minister -- certainly signifying Sonia's trust in him.
Oct 12, 1935 - Dec 12, 2005
Left to Sonia Gandhi, Shivraj Patil could have become President too. But the Left parties stalled that move. They found Shivraj 'soft' towards Hindutva issues. It is only with the communists; you get such peculiar argument and decisions.
They did not mind him as the Home Minister. But they would not have him as the President of the Republic.
As Home Minister; Patil did not leave any major legacy to remember. In 2008 he courted controversies for changing outfit on Sept 13th -- the day Delhi saw multiple outfits.
Refer to old blog ::: Link
Does Sonia Gandhi remember Shivraj Patil
As Lok Sabha Speaker, he drew flak for 'disqualifying' members from Janata Dal when they defected. But his move was in favour of the Rao government.
As Lok Sabha Speaker of course he played a key role in establishing Departments/ministry related Parliamentary Standing Committees and even Atal Bihari Vajpayee and K L Sharma of BJP had recorded their appreciation for the same.
The then Home Minister Shivraj Patil was also involved (embroiled) in controversies surrounding the Mukherjee Commission, specifically that he did not extend its term.
Shivraj Patil allegedly showed disrespect to the commission's chairman, Justice Manoj Mukherjee and did not even request him to sit when the latter met him in his office.
The commission, which was investigating the disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, was set to expire on May 14, 2005.
Forward Bloc leaders and Netaji's relatives met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil to request an extension, as the probe was deemed incomplete.
However, an extension was not granted, and the commission submitted its report on November 8, 2005.
The UPA government rejected the commission's primary finding that Netaji did not die in a plane crash and that the ashes in the Renkoji Temple were not his.
It was later highlighted that the commission's detailed findings were ignored and dismissed by a junior official in the Home Ministry, which was viewed as a major insult to the judicial authority of the commission's chairman.
Paradoxically, Left parties had overwhelming number of MPs from West Bengal in that Lok Sabha but the communist members did not press the matter much.
The Mukherjee probe was set up May 14, 1999 during the Vajpayee Govt under the Commissions of Inquiry Act to investigate the alleged disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the height of World War II.
Later in 2006, Shivraj Patil informed Parliament that the Manmohan Singh government did "not agree" with the findings of the Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry that "that Netaji did not die in an air crash and that the ashes in (Japan's) Renkoji Temple were not of Netaji".
ends
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