In Sonia's absence, Sheila Dikshit is more vulnerable

It’s raining scams in the monsoon session of  Parliament as well. The sleaze and scandal downpour threatens to wash away several of UPA’s carefully-crafted plans to use this session to conduct some solid legislative business and spruce up its image. Amongst the initiatives in the pipeline are socially relevant bills like those on land acquisition and food security, as well as some like the insurance regulatory bill aimed at kicking off a second wave of economic reforms and sending the right message to the international investing community. [caption id=“attachment_55563” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sonia Gandhi’s absence  from Delhi at this time leaves Sheila Dikshit vulnerable to attacks from her detractors within the party. AFP”]  [/caption] But with new state actors — the latest being Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit— now being indicted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its performance audit report on the Commonwealth Game (CWG), legislative business is the last thing on the minds of the Congress top brass. The party is on the defensive, trying to launch a rearguard action to somehow take the heat off Sheila Dikshit, third time Chief Minister of Delhi and one of the most popular and credible faces of the party amongst the chattering classes. But the glitter has surely faded in the Past few days. On Friday the Delhi CM was scurrying for cover as newshounds as well as opposition leaders demanded her resignation following a severe indictment of the Delhi government by the CAG in the award and execution of CWG-related contracts, resulting in the losses of tens of crores of rupees. Strictures have also been passed on the manner in which beautification and street lighting projects were awarded not only in an arbitrary manner but also with huge cost inflation, resulting in a big loss of public money. There’s another factor as well in this equation which may turn out to be the biggest handicap for Sheila Dikshit in the present circumstance. Sonia Gandhi’s absence – even if it is temporary — from Delhi at this time leaves Sheila Dikshit vulnerable to attacks from her detractors within the party. It’s interesting to remember that while Sonia is Dikshit’s biggest support within the party, the Congress chief’s political secretary, Ahmad Patel, is one of her known detractors! Dikshit is trying to put up a brave, even defiant, front in the face of the combined onslaught from the opposition and a section of the media which – according to those more sympathetic towards the Delhi CM - is going much farther than what even the CAG report is suggesting. Rekha Gupta, the Additional Director General of CAG, categorically said that the CAG report had not directly named the chief minister while listing the failures and irregularities committed by the state government in connection with the Commonwealth Games. That’s Sheila Dikshit’s line of defence as well.  She told reporters that the guilty will not be spared and that her government will fully cooperate with the CAG and the Public Accounts Committee in any further investigations. Her strategy is clear.  She wants to separate herself from the decisions taken by different departments and their head honchos in the run up to the Commonwealth Games so that she insulates herself from their actions. But there are not many buyers for this gameplan. Certainly not in the prevailing mood when public tolerance on even vague allegations of corruption is low. In this instance  there’s a CAG report running into hundreds of pages detailing the sleaze and scam of the Commonwealth Games. Dikshit’s problems may be further compounded if the CBI decides to take cognisance of the CAG report and starts to register criminal cases against those named in the audit report. It’s unlikely that a case will be registered against her by name but even without that happening the pressure on her to resign is only likely to increase further.