National

Whimper Of A Boom

By taking a defensive approach on Bofors, the Congress isn't helping its cause any

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Whimper Of A Boom
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OUTGUNNED on Bofors, the Congress stood by, hap-less, as the BJP minted capital fromthe chargesheet nam-ing the late Rajiv Gandhi as an accused. Having earlier dared the BJPto file the Bofors chargesheet, Congress president Sonia Gandhi described the move as"political vendetta".

Party MPs are puzzled by the Congress highcommand’s failure to handle the issue effectively. First, by focusing on theinclu-sion of Rajiv’s name in the chargesheet, the Congress deflected attention fromthe "sixth account" contained in the second set of documents awaited from Berne.It is rumoured to be embarrassing for the ruling party. It was only on the last day ofParliament that Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar spoke of the BJP’s attempt to shieldthe Hindujas by filing the chargesheet before the documents could be released.

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The MPs, however, cannot understand why theCongress fought shy of a fullfledged discussion on the subject, during the course of whichthe alleged link between Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Hindujas could have been exploited.Aiyar gave Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi notice for a discussion but withdrew it underinstruc-tions from party bosses within 12 hours. Vajpayee called Sonia’s bluff byoffering a debate, which was summarily rejected. Congressmen are curious aboutSonia’s absence from the Lok Sabha on the day the PM replied to questions on theBofors chargesheet. "It’s such an important sub-ject for her. What was theurgency to go to Orissa? She could have gone a day earlier or a day later," says anMP from the south.

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The Congress’ knee-jerk response to thechargesheet had two aspects: an attempt to distance the Gandhi family from one of the mainaccused, Ottavio Quattrocchi, and howls of protest against the mention of Rajiv in column2 (listing those who can-not be subjected to prosecution) of the chargesheet andaccusations that the BJP was using the CBI for a "political purpose".

So far, the Congress’ stand on Quattrocchihas been to demand "proof" against him. "Show me the proof," saidSonia when questioned about Quattrocchi at her maiden press conference, a stand laterreiterated by the party’s top legal gun, Kapil Sibal. Now, party spokespersons aredownplaying the relationship between the Gandhis and  Quattrocchis. "The factthat I may be a family friend of somebody doesn’t mean we do business together,"observed Sibal.

On its objections to Rajiv Gandhi being named in thechargesheet, the Congress was on aweak legal wicket. In the Lok Sabha, the BJP’s Arun Jaitley decimated theCongress’ ‘halla brigade’, demolishing the claim that the inclusionof a dead man’s name in column 2 of the chargesheet was  unprecedented. In both the Indira Gandhiand Rajiv Gandhi assassination chargesheets, filed under Congress dispensations,the primeaccused were deceased but figured in column 2 of the respective chargesheets, he pointed out."That doesn’t make it right," argued Sibal later. Sonia, inher address to the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), said she wasupset that Jaitley should have equated the main accused in the Indira Gandhi and RajivGandhiassassinations with her late husband.

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JAITLEYsuggested the Congress go to court for a ruling on the chargesheet if it was so exercisedby the inclusion of Rajiv Gandhi as an accused, but Sibal claimed it had no legalrecourse. "No one has the locus standi to go to court. Nor can we file a defamationcase, because that would necessarily follow dis-posal of the criminal suit. We’llhave to fight it politically," he said. While legal opinion on this issue is divided,the Congress clearly prefers to take its woes to the court of the people.

On the floor of the Lok Sabha, the high command instructed Congress members to go easy.Although younger MPs like Jagmeet Singh Brar, Ramesh Chennithala, Aiyar and RenukaChoudhary wanted to stall house proceedings, they were told there were to be nodisruptions or any attempts to crowd the well of the house. A token walkout was theparty’s only protest. Aiyar made several abortive attempts to raise the issue but wasrestrained— sometimes physically— by party chief whip Priyaranjan DasMunshi.

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While Sonia herself maintained a deafening silence, deputy leader of the OppositionMadhavrao Scindia, too, remained quiet for the most part. It was left to other OppositionMPs— notably, the A I A D M K and Left Front— to raise questions re g a rdingthe controversial "sixth account" and filing of an incompletechargesheet. Giventhe Left’s earlier stand on the Bofors probe, it could not openly come to theCongress’ aid on the C B I  n a m i n g  Rajiv Gandhi as an accused.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, meanwhile, insists he will call for adebate on Bofors. He hinted in the house that both the ruling and the main oppositionparties had close and intimate links with the Hindujas.

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Unable to combat Bofors either legally orpolitically, Congress managers were reduced to threatening the rul-ing party withblackmail. Das Munshi said the BJP could not take Congress support on leg-islative mattersfor granted.

"The B J P should have realised the strong sentiments of Congressmen for RajivGandhi. We brought down the Gujral  government on the Jain Commission," saysCongress Working Committee member Pranab Mukherjee. Senior Congress MP Shivraj Patilissued a veiled threat to the BJP in the Lok Sabha, warning that if it created obstaclesto "ensuring an atmosphere of co-operation", the Congress would respond in kind.Accordingly, the party has refused to commit itself to supporting the Insurance RegulatoryAuthority Bill in the Lok Sabha.Party spokesperson Ajit Jogi justified this stance,saying: "The process of confrontation has been started by the BJP." The"sentiments" of Congressmen vis-a-vis Rajiv Gandhi weren’t much in evidencein the week after the chargesheet was filed. Belatedly, a directive was sent to PradeshCongress Committee and District Congress Committee chiefs to organise protests against theattempted "defamation" of the late Congress leader. A press statement was issuedin Karnataka and dharnas staged in Lucknow and Delhi, evoking tepid public response. Inthe CPP, Sonia encouraged MPs to organise protests.

A section of party leaders felt a non-cooperative attitude would be counter-productive.As parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan pointed out, the Congress manifestocommitted the party to supporting legislation on insurance and foreign exchangeregulation. "I met Congress leaders in the speaker’s chamber. They said therewould be no problem," said Mahajan.

While the B J P d o e s n ’t necessarily need Congress support for bills in theLok Sabha, it’s short of a majority in the Rajya Sabha. On Constitution amendmentbills, the B J P needs a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha as well. One reason why ithas made no re f e rence to the proposed legislation barring naturalised Indian citizensfrom occupying the offices of president and prime minister, targeted specifically againstSonia.

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The Congress high command’s wishy-washy perf o rmance Bofors in Parliament is insharp contrast to Sonia’s aggressposture before the elections. attitude has beendefensive rather than offensive. As result, the Bofors issue, instead of encouraging theparty close ranks behind Sonia, actually fuelled discontent. a rty MP summed up theirfears: "The Congress has so believed it was using Sonia; now, it seems Sonia is usingCongress."

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