On the first day of the monsoon session,Sonia Gandhi startled Parliament and those watching the proceedings by showing a rare agitation at BJP veteran L.K. Advanis remarks about the UPA. She made sure her party registered its protest,extracted a clarification,if not an apology,and got the remarks deleted from parliamentary record. That image from the House has touched off a question: Does this mean a new take-charge Sonia Gandhi? A leader who is prepared to not just helm the party,as she has done,but also to be seen to be doing so? Admittedly,there is a danger in reading too much into Sonias new assertiveness. It is also born of necessity. Pranab Mukherjee is no longer available to steer the party in the House,and Sushilkumar Shinde may not be a ready replacement his recent remarks to Jaya Bachchan are proof that he has much to learn as a tactician and debater. Whatever be the reason,if Sonia Gandhi appears to be stepping towards taking ownership of her party in Parliament,it may not be such a long distance from there to a more visible commitment to a policy agenda. So far,her silences have done great damage to the governments will. The UPAs unmistakable rudderlessness has much to do with the fact that Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh,heads of the party and the government,have been publicly silent and non-committal. This creates a fog of uncertainty and misinterpretation,with UPA leaders and allies often working at cross-purposes. It is known that Sonia Gandhi is personally invested in several pieces of legislation,but only because the National Advisory Council makes it known. Why should her opinions come filtered through the NAC,when she can actively push for her ideas in Parliament? There have been other reasons for optimism: most notably,Parliament,so far,has not been gridlocked in this session. The UPA gracefully gave in to the oppositions demand for an adjournment motion on Assam. The issue was debated at length,and the motion ultimately defeated. This is no marvel of good conduct,but given the bitter partisanship and grandstanding of recent months,it is a heartening change. Similarly,setting up a weekly coordination meeting to work out the points of friction between coalition partners may not seem like much,but it could make a difference to UPA 2 getting its act together. Sonia Gandhi has signalled a beginning by engaging directly in Parliament. She must build on that by also communicating with the media and the people.
