Cong forces Jairam to reject Naidu’s offer on advisory panel

Ironically, Jairam had initially indicated his willingness to accept Naidu’s offer. He admits in his letter to the Chief Minister that this was a mistake on his part. “I realise that I should not have said anything without consulting the Congress president,” the letter says.

Apart from Jairam, Naidu had asked Manmohan Singh to join the council, but the former finance minister is believed to have refused outright.

Naidu’s offer stoked a storm in the Congress, particularly within the Andhra PCC, which yesterday strongly urged the central leadership to take action against Jairam. The PCC said Jairam should make up his mind whether he wanted to stay in the Congress or not.

Jairam said he talked to Congress president Sonia Gandhi this morning to tell her that he had refused Naidu’s offer. He stoutly denied rumours that he was planning to leave the Congress. “I will never leave the party,” he declared.

His explanation for his initial acceptance of Naidu’s offer was that he wanted that decision-making on crucial economic and social issues be a non-partisan process. “But obviously, if the PCC is going to be upset, I can’t go against them,” he said.

He maintained that he had given Naidu a “positive response” thinking the matter would be discussed further before a final decision is taken. Instead, he said he was surprised to find how quickly Naidu acted and announced the formation of the council.