PM's hint to Rahul: Sonia wanted 'nonsense' ordinance too

The much acclaimed survival instincts of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are intact. He does not think that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has in any way undermined him, by describing as ’nonsense’ an ordinance on criminal MPs that was passed by the union cabinet chaired by him. He thus found that there was no grave provocation or reason to consider the extreme step of resigning from the post, as his former media advisor Sanjay Baru had once suggested. [caption id=“attachment_1146881” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Manmohan Singh in this file photo. PTI[/caption] “Well, there is no question of resigning”, Manmohan Singh said on board Air India One while returning from a six-day US tour which saw him address the United Nations and meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. “I think, I have been used to ups and downs and I don’t get easily upset”, he said. A closer look at his statements make one realise that he is actually a more hard boiled, thick skinned politician than many ever considered him to be. And, in this case, the severe, even humiliating wound that was inflicted on his position by none other than the same Rahul Gandhi he expressed willingness to work under. However it seemed that he would not give up without telling Rahul Gandhi that if he (the PM) is being faulted, then Rahul’s mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi should also be faulted. It was a decision that was taken and approved by the core group that she heads. It was only when she took the political decision, that the ordinance could be drafted by the law ministry and placed before the Cabinet to follow the due constitutional process. He also gently asked Rahul Gandhi where he was when the ordinance was approved by the Cabinet not once but twice, once as a bill and on the second occasion as an ordinance. “I am trying to understand what is it agitating the mind of the concerned people. When I go back, I will discuss these matters with Mr Rahul Gandhi. He has asked for a meeting with me and I will take my Cabinet colleagues also in to confidence. We will see which way the wind blows. Well, there is no question of resigning. I said I will put all these issues before my Cabinet colleagues. These are all matters which are discussed before the highest body, the core group of the Congress Party. The Cabinet discussed this matter twice, not once. But it is always possible to change one’s mind and I will consult my colleagues on all these issues.” Singh has already fetched a public proclamation of total support from the person who matters most to him and to the Congress party - Sonia Gandhi. “I want to tell them (BJP) that the whole party, the whole party stands behind our Prime Minister”, she thundered in a public meeting in Karnataka on Monday. The PM would expect same degree of support from Sonia at the Core Committee meeting, scheduled for after his morning meeting with Rahul Gandhi. The core group comprises Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Sushilkumar Shinde, AK Antony and Ahmed Patel. Singh thereafter has to meet President Pranab Mukherjee who leaves on a two nation tour in the afternoon. There is no way in which it can be construed that Singh, who has been a wily prime ministerial survivor for the last nine-and half years, (only less in number of years in office than Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi), would take any confrontationist path vis-à-vis Rahul Gandhi. Even as he gently reminded Rahul Gandhi of a few facts to protect his person grace, if any, he was careful to strike a conciliatory note also in the same onboard briefing. He chose to term the Congress Vice President’s remark calling the ordinance “complete nonsense”  as a sign of ‘very healthy’ democracy in his party. “I think that’s what a democracy is about. I don’t think we are an authoritarian structure in which one person lays down the line all the way and therefore my humble feeling is that when a point of view has been expressed, we must sit together and understand what is agitating the mind of the person who has raised these issue and that’s what we will do” Singh said. The question is did the Congress provide no other democratic way to Rahul to make his voice heard other than making a barged intervention to vent his anger at a Meet the Press function held by his party’s communication department chief Ajay Maken. For the records, the Cabinet, which meets at 6 pm today has drafted some honourable grounds in the Cabinet note to withdraw the ordinance. It has been drafted in such a way that it does not appear like an abject surrender to Rahul but then given that the note is part of official record forever, the leadership was conscious not to leave behind its embarrassment as inflicted by the mighty Congress vice president in printed words. “Any reasonable reading of the ordinance cannot lead to this conclusion…Since the president has not signed the ordinance, it is important to place the matter before the Cabinet and solicit its directions on the following," The cabinet now has two options before it. First, to await promulgation of the ordinance by President Pranab Mukherjee, or withdraw the ordinance and await the report of the parliament standing committee. Incidentally, the note, in a way admits that President is withholding his consent. This brings it back to the argument that Rahul made a virtue out a necessity, and navigated an honorable exit out of a sure embarrassment of the government and the party when President may finally have returned the ordinance for reconsideration. But the key UPA ally NCP is not taking kindly to the developments. “I think the way the events have come out, it is very unfortunate. It could have been handled in a better way. It’s embarrassing. The decision has been taken by the Cabinet and only the Cabinet can reverse the decision…The onus lies with the Congress (who) heads the coalition to clear the air of misunderstanding. The onus should not be put on other political parties,” Civil Aviation Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel had said. Hours before the PM returned home, NCP chief and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said Patel’s statement was the official party line. Pawar, and even Farooq Abdullah may vent their ire in the Cabinet meeting but its course has already been dictated by Rahul Gandhi and will meet to respond what Narendra Modi on Sunday asked in Delhi rally – “what should prevail in the country, the Constitution or the whims of Shazada? (crown prince).”