CRISIS

REAL POLITICAL CRISIS FOR SONIA GANDHI

EITHER A MID TERM POLL OR   PRIME MINISTER

By R Rajagopalan

Congress leadership is in a deep crisis. Sonia Gandhi is facing

real testing time. According to a senior minister, next fortnight

is too crucial for UPA2 and specially for Congress.

Suddenly negative feelings have cropped up about the

continuation of UPA2 and also the political leadership.

In Congress Core Committee meetings, Sonia Gandhi is not soft

as she used to be in the past six years, commented the same source.

Senior Congress leaders are also much concerned about the

state of AICC affairs. Sonia Gandhi in the past one week had

cancelled three important party meetings,  Her mind set is to 

cancel or postpone. This new trend in Sonia Gandhi is also 

indicative of future approaches that UPA2 and Congress per se

to take on the fast moving political developments.

With fifteen days of Parliament paralysed on JPC on 2G scam

New Delhi is agog with speculation with two options

whether to go in for change of Prime Minister or

go in for a mid term elections. 

There is a basis for such speculations. Senior leaders in private

express that Rahul Gandhi should be brought in to position.

But mother and son are too reluctant to assume power now.

In North Avenue where many MPs reside in NewDelhi, printed posters

have come up last night to indicate that Pranab Mukherjee should

be the Prime Minister to end the present deadlock in Parliament.

Congress leaders are much concerned about such speculative posters

and how that made a major  dent in the UPA2 being branded as

lame duck Government.

Pranab Mukherjee Leader of Congress Party in Lok Sabha

pointed out to the Core Committee of Congress, if UPA2 agreed

for JPC on 2G spectrum- there are three major possibilities.

1. With the ruling party will get minority representation in JPC

as constitution of JPC is based on proportional representation.

Congress has very less numbers hence Congress will not get majority members.

2.Opposition controlled JPC would insist summoning Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh

to appear before the JPC for examination on 2G spectrum scam.Like the Supreme Court

passed strictures against Prime Minister on Dr Subramanian Swamy petition.

3.JPC members will play political cards in creating dissentions in UPA2, by alluring

Sharad Pawar and Mamta Banerjee to speak against 2G spectrum to embarrass Congress.

When Pranab Mukherjee explained this to Sonia and to Dr Manmohan Singh,

were really scared and understood the implication of agreeing to a JPC

Resolution was to reject the JPC.

Politically Pranab Mukherjee also hinted to LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj

on Friday that if Opposition is adamant on JPC on 2G, UPA2 will not hesitate to

go in for a mid term poll in April along with the West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

and Puducherry elections.  

Congress is also toying with an bright idea of change of Prime Minister and bring

in a new face to head the UPA2 for the rest of two and half years.

The numbers suggest that representatives of the political parties represented in the government 

will be 7 in case of a 15-member JPC; 14 in case of a 30-member JPC; and only 21 in a 45-member JPC.

Three of the four JPCs constituted by the government in the past — Bofors (1987), securities scam 

(1992) and stock market scam (2001) — had 30 members while the 2003 JPC into the cola case had 15 members.

ends