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Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh is unlikely to resign from the Union cabinet for the moment, but has been told by the Congress leadership not to overstep his brief. The reported dressing down comes a day after he met Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram for about ten minutes to explain his stance on the controversial comments that he made in China with regard to the Indian Home MInistry. Some sources had said earlier that the minister had offered to step down when he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, but others in the ministry and in the Congress have said that this is incorrect and added that Ramesh has no plans to quit. Last week, Ramesh said the Home Ministry's policies towards Chinese companies were "alarmist" and "paranoid", and he had to explain his stand to the Prime Minister and to Sonia Gandhi. Ramesh's remarks were made in the context of a company named Huawei Technologies, which is a major manufacturer of telecom equipment, which has been lobbying to operate in India. Ramesh is a Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh and his term in the Upper House of Parliament comes to an end next month. The Congress leadership in Andhra Pradesh is reportedly reluctant to re-nominate him in the wake of his refusal as a minister to give permission and environment clearance to build a memorial for former chief minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy in a forest area where his chopper went down on September 2 last year.

Ramesh told not to exceed his brief, won't resign for now: Sources