RAISINA HILL (AUGUST)

Amitabh Shukla

Diary from the seat of power

SONIA

Congress President Sonia Gandhi was in the United States for two weeks to attend to her ailing mother Paola Maino undergoing treatment there. The issue of Gandhi’s absence from the country would not even have been known but for the scheduled appointment of Gandhi with the British Prime Minister David Cameron.

As Gandhi could not keep up the scheduled appointment with Cameron, Britain apparently wanted to know the reasons. The reasons appeared in a section of the media. None of the Congress leaders were aware of the absence of Gandhi who had gone to the US with her son and Congress leader Rahul. They cite security reason for non-disclosure of the personal visit of Gandhi to the US.

After Gandhi arrived in the country several decisions awaited her approval, which included inclusion of caste in census enumeration and taking decisions on important legislations for the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Some leaders, however, still wonder why such an episode was kept a closely guarded secret. “The entire country would have wished her well,” quipped a party leader who came to know about the illness of Gandhi’s mother through the newspapers.

AJIT SINGH

The mercurial leader having a solid support base in Western Uttar Pradesh is now finding it difficult to trudge alone in the political battlefield. The son of the late Charan Singh, whose political legacy he inherited, Ajit Singh is not averse to joining Congress to better his fortunes in the state.

“For the last two decades or so, he is getting 10-15 odd seats in the state assembly and 3-5 Lok Sabha seats. For how long can he remain content with this. He should be looking at a bigger, all India canvas,” remarked a senior Congress leader.

Elections for Uttar Pradesh Assembly are slated to be held in early 2012 and the political mathematics and the calculators are working fast now. While Congress wants the merger of the Ajit Singh led RLD, Singh himself believes that an alliance is the best option for him. The bonhomie between Singh and Congress came out in the open when he supported Congress nominee Captain Satish Sharma for the Rajya Sabha elections from the state. Sharma would never had won had it not been for the support of the Jat leader.

However, in this game of political one up manship where both the parties want a better deal, it remains to be seen who has the last laugh, Congress or the RLD.

MAMATA

With Congress eager to stage a comeback in West Bengal, riding a piggyback on Mamata Banerjee, the riddles of the party and the worry lines are only increasing. The latest in the episode was the involvement of Maoists in a rally at Lalgarh.

"Congress has extended moral support to the rally. The Committee comprising of Intellectuals, writers, artists and others are working for the restoration of peace in the area," party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said.

The very next day, papers published photographs of wanted Maoists roaming around in the area during the rally. But Mamata has never been defensive about it as she sees the Maoists an active ally against the CPI(M) in West Bengal. “Enemy’s enemy is a friend,” quipped a leader, meaning that the Maoists are an enemy of the ruling CPI(M) while Trinamool Congress too is an enemy of the ruling party. Political observers are keenly watching how long this association continues.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES

The Commonwealth Games are headed to become a national shame even though the UPA government is trying its best to prevent the disaster from happening. The Opposition has demanded setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a CBI probe into the scam, a charge rubbished by the Congress.

However, the charges are gradually sticking and even the common people in the city of Delhi are now asking questions throwing in jeopardy the involvement of the local people, so crucial for the success of the Games.

(7.8.2010)