Rahul tears ordinance and the PM

The rebuff that shocked the government and the party came less than 24 hours after President Pranab Mukherjee had summoned senior cabinet ministers for clarifications on the ordinance,putting a question mark on its fate.

Rahul’s outburst,broadcast live by TV news channels,not only seriously undermined the position of the Prime Minister hours before he was due to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington,but also sealed the fate of the controversial emergency law.

Congress sources said that the cabinet would meet after the PM returns next week,and withdraw the ordinance,a move it was believed to be considering after the ministers met Mukherjee.

Rahul’s move,Congress strategists said,may help him distance himself from the UPA government’s perceived omissions and commissions and go to the electorate with a clean image. But in the process,it delivered a blow to the image of the government as also that of Congress president Sonia Gandhi,who was a part of the Congress core group meeting last Saturday which cleared the ordinance proposal.

On Friday,Rahul’s intervention was as dramatic as it was bewildering.

He made an impromptu appearance at a press conference Congress communications department chairman Ajay Maken was addressing at the Press Club of India — and was justifying the ordinance — and launched a short but scathing attack against the ordinance.

Rahul said that before arriving at the conference,he had spoken to Maken who gave him the political line about the ordinance that “everybody will give you,the Congress will give you,the BJP will give you”.

“My opinion on the ordinance is that it is complete nonsense. I think it should be torn up and thrown out. That is my opinion. My personal opinion on the ordinance. I will repeat it for you. My opinion on the ordinance is that it should be torn up and thrown away.

“The arguments that are being made and I have heard the arguments,in my organisation the argument that is being made is that,we need to do this – internally,I am telling you what is happening internally – we need to do this because of political considerations. Everybody does this. The Congress party does this,the BJP does this,Janata Dal does this,the Samajwadi does this and everybody does this. And there is a time to stop this nonsense,” he said,speaking in an informal,chatty style.

“And I really feel it is about time that political parties,mine and all others,stop making these kind of compromises because if we want to actually fight corruption in this country,whether it is us the Congress party or the BJP,we cannot continue making these small compromises,” he said as Maken nodded.

“Because when we make these small compromises,then we compromise everything. So,that is my position on the ordinance. I am not interested in what any opposition leader says. I am interested in what the Congress party is doing,I am interested in what our government is doing and I feel,personally feel,what our government has done as far as this ordinance is concerned is wrong,” Rahul added.

Congress sources said that the dramatic entry of Rahul to announce his disapproval was “well-orchestrated”.

On Thursday,in an unusual move,Maken decided to hold a press conference at the press club. It is very rare that any AICC functionary,not to speak of a party general secretary,holds a press briefing at the club. That Maken’s brief was limited to calling the press conference was evident as he started speaking in support of the ordinance until it was cut short by Rahul’s entry.

Hours later,even as the government and the party were analysing the import and repercussions of Rahul’s comments,the congress vice president wrote to the PM explaining the events.

“I realize that what I feel about the ordinance is not in harmony with the Cabinet decision and the core group’s view. I also know it would be exploited by our political opponents,” he wrote,according to a statement from the party.

“You know that I have the highest respect for you and I look up to you for your wisdom. I have nothing but the greatest admiration for the manner in which you are providing leadership in extremely difficult circumstances. I hope you will understand the strength of my own conviction about this very controversial issue,” he said.

Congress sources pointed out that all these years,Rahul has been consciously trying to distance himself from the UPA government,choosing not to voice his opinion on contentious issues while taking credit for welfare schemes. Even when invited to attend Congress core group meetings on crucial issues,sources said he deliberately stayed away,except on a couple of occasions when “his issues” such as Telangana statehood and the Land Acquisition Bill came up for discussion.

A section of the Congress,however,disapproved of Rahul’s snub to the Manmohan Singh government saying it had come “too late”.

“He has questioned the collective wisdom of the party leadership and the government by publicly denouncing it. But the President of India had already shown his inclination to stall the ordinance and the opposition parties had also taken the lead in opposing it,” said a senior Congress leader.

Incidentally,Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily was the only one to express his reservation against the ordinance at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting that considered the proposal. “It is not an appropriate time for this,” Moily was learnt to have said.

Before the meeting,Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had called up the Prime Minister to express her reservation. Subsequently,Digvijaya Singh and Milind Deora also questioned the government’s move. All these leaders are perceived to be close to Rahul.