PM, Sonia pay respect to Mahatma at Raj Ghat, but where is Rahul?

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited Raj Ghat today on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti to pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi, the absence of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has raised many eyebrows. The Congress Vice President’s absence is all the more conspicuous because it comes hours ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to discuss the ordinance on criminal MPs passed by the cabinet, which in a surprise move, Rahul slammed in public as a ’nonsense ordinance’ that needed to be torn up and thrown away. Later, his mother Sonia Gandhi thundered at a rally in Karnataka that the entire party was behind the PM. [caption id=“attachment_1147009” align=“alignright” width=“380”] PM, Sonia Gandhi visited Rajghat to pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi. Image: ibnlive[/caption] Manmohan Singh for his part, arrived back in India from the US in a combative mood last night. He indicated that he was unhappy with the timing of the Congress Vice President’s sudden outburst and hinted that Sonia had also been a part of the original decision. At 6 pm, the Cabinet will meet to take a final call on withdrawing the ordinance. The question being asked is whether the Prime Minister is bowing to Rahul’s wishes. “I am not a master of what people say. It has happened. When I go back I will try to find out the reasons why it had to be done this way and how we will handle it,” the Prime Minister said on Tuesday. Many feel that Rahul Gandhi, by registering his opposition publicly, when the PM was abroad, effectively undermined Singh’s authority. Responding to that the PM has said that he has seen many ups and downs and doesn’t easily get upset. Whether Rahul is upset or defiant remains to be seen, but his absence from Raj Ghat is certainly fueling speculation that this matter may not simply go away. When Rahul and Manmohan Singh meet early on Wednesday morning, it would be to find a meeting point. The Prime Minister will explain to Rahul that the ordinance is not shielding criminals while Rahul is expected to be apologetic, yet stick to his stand that the ordinance was wrong.