Old guard cautious, so Sonia fields the young and restless

An upset Mukherjee is understood to have remarked last Monday at the customary morning meeting that senior Congress leaders had with Sonia that he could not change his approach at this age. He said something to the effect that if his abilities were found wanting, someone else endowed with the requisite capability could be considered in his place.

The attack on him and Singh was led by P J Kurien, who is considered close to the Congress President. Manmohan Singh also spoke in a similar vein though he did not speak of steppingdown. Defending his decision on the rule under which the discussion was held in the Rajya Sabha on the issues raised by Mohan Guruswamy, he said that the Congress had to behave like a responsible party and what was at stake was its prestige and credibility.

Congress members have expressed dissatisfaction in recent days with Singh8217;s speech on the Guruswamy charges last Saturday. But then Singh has never been a rabble rouser. As for Pawar, to end any ambivalence about his role, he took a tough line against George Fernandes while speaking to the media today.

The Congress has suddenly toughened its stance towards the Government both on the Bhagwat issue and the Guruswamy affair. The party has a threefold strategy: it is gunning for George Fernandes he was the one who led the attack against Rajiv Gandhi on Bofors; it wants to put the BJP in the dock on the corruption issue, with crucial Assembly elections scheduled for the year-end. And third, it calculates that allegations about the Bofors payoffs wouldpale in comparison before the 8220;defence scam8221; about which Bhagwat is making allegations.

The Government has let it be known in certain circles that there is a forward movement on the Bofors case, and it may initiate proceedings against those like Madhav Sinh Solanki, even with the information it has.

The truth is that senior Congress leaders have not been sure about the desirability of discussing all aspects of the Bhagwat affair which might bring into open aspects involving the country8217;s security.

Sonia made it clear at the Monday meeting that the Congress should go all out to project the BJP as a party of corruption. Indirectly referring to Bofors, she is learnt to have said that the opposition parties had not been shy of dubbing the Congress as a corrupt party, based merely on radio news.

Mukherji and Manmohan Singh came under attack for not pressing for a discussion on the issues raised by Guruswamy, former aide of Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, under Rule 170 which provides for a vote in theHouse. This would have embarrassed the Government no end since the combined Opposition has a majority in the upper house. Instead, the Congress leaders in the RS settled for a discussion without a vote.

In recent days, Sonia Gandhi has pressed into service younger leaders, the only exception being Shiv Shankar. Kamal Nath had demanded a JPC on the Bhagwat affair in the Lok Sabha, reopening the whole issue after the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister had convinced Opposition leaders in the Rajya Sabha not to press for a discussion. Vayalar Ravi had asserted that the Congress would not let go of the Bhagwat affair in the upper house, 8220;leaders or no leaders.8221; Suresh Pachauri moved a motion for a discussion in the upper house under Rule 170, on which there is a standoff.