Opinion Carpetbaggers in CWC

The reconstitution of the Congress Working Committee has upset many in the party who feel that non-entities and defectors have been rewarded.

Coomi Kapoor

March 13, 2011 02:24 AM IST First published on: Mar 13, 2011 at 02:24 AM IST

Carpetbaggers in CWC

The reconstitution of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has upset many in the party who feel that non-entities and defectors have been rewarded at the expense of seasoned hands and long-term loyalists. Mohan Prakash,who was till recently in the Janata Dal and as party spokesperson regularly attacked the Congress,has been given charge of Maharashtra,Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir; Dhani Ram Shandil,who had left the Congress along with Sukh Ram,will look after Andhra,Himachal and Meghalaya. Madhusudan Mistry,one of the new general secretaries,was part of the Shankersinh Vaghela faction of the BJP. Sanjay Nirupam,formerly a vocal member of the Shiv Sena and a no-holds-barred Congress critic,is in charge of Kerala,Karnataka and Lakshadweep (The CPI(M),as part of its election campaign in Kerala,is compiling a list of Nirupams statements against minorities in his earlier avatar). Gulchain Singh Charak,who has been entrusted with Bihar,Punjab and Chandigarh,is so widely unknown that party colleagues had to do a Google search to find out just who he is. Many see the hand of Sonia Gandhis powerful political secretary Ahmed Patel behind the appointments.

Womanly bond

Sonia Gandhi and leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj have established a bond and always greet each other cordially at the start of the days business,despite the subsequent acrimonious exchanges between members of the two parties during the proceedings. Observers in the press gallery surmise that it was perhaps thanks to Sonia Gandhis intervention that Telecommunication Minister Kapil Sibal backtracked on his harsh remarks directed at Swaraj at the start of his speech in the Lok Sabha last week. Sibal began his speech by stating that Swaraj could turn lies into truth and vice versa. Gandhi at that point,whispered something to Pranab Mukherjee who spoke to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal and he,in turn,caught Sibals eye. Midway through his speech,Sibal retracted his remarks,regretting that he had caused offence. Sibal,however,maintains that no one asked him to apologise. He simply did not want the debate to be derailed as several BJP MPs were heckling him for his impugned remarks.

Wheels within wheels

While senior Congress functionaries were busy briefing the media about the DMKs irresponsible behaviour in threatening to pull out of the government,the southern ally,on its part,privately blamed the ruling party for speaking in different voices during the seat-sharing talks. The DMK suspected that some Tamil Nadu Congress leaders were actually working to end the alliance,and,therefore,wanted to sound an alert to catch the Congress presidents attention. The DMK found it unusual that the five-member Congress committee on seat-sharing had not met Sonia Gandhi even once to seek directions. The breakdown of talks was just the number of seats and the choice of constituencies,the DMK was also upset with the Congress for not reining in the CBI.

A particularly sore point was that the CBI wanted to check the authenticity of a letter written by an industrialist to M Karunanidhi,a copy of which was found at Niira Radias residence during a raid. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had already declared that he had received no such letter. As expected,it was Pranab Mukherjee who saved the alliance. Interestingly,Rahul Gandhis name was mentioned as the one who was not in favour of continuing the tie-up with the DMK.

Dogging his footsteps

V Narayanasamy,the MoS in the PMO,has yet to be allotted the office of his predecessor,Prithviraj Chavan,in Parliament House. Also,he is yet to learn the ropes in his new post. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was heard instructing him in the House to sit down,as it did not behoove someone holding the PMs MoS to heckle the Opposition. Narayanasamy is a tad insecure because his fellow MoS for Parliamentary Affairs,Ashwani Kumar,tries to be constantly by the side of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Kumar has the advantage that he can converse with the PM in Punjabi and has even moved into Narayanasamy’s old office,which is prized due to its proximity to the press gallery.

A new censor

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has to choose a new Censor Board chairperson. The present incumbent,Sharmila Tagore,has completed two terms and there is no precedent for a third term. Several names from the film world are making the rounds,including that of Shabana Azmi.