Cong takes battle to NDA-ruled states

Determined to make political capital out of Sonia Gandhi's resignation from the Lok Sabha and the National Advisory Council (NAC) after the row over office of profit, the Congress is planning to take the battle to the states where NDA parties are in power.

Party's units in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan have swung into action to highlight the "double standards" of the Opposition BJP.

A delegation of Congress MLAs from Jharkhand has reached Delhi to meet the President and the Chief Election Commissioner to press for disqualification of about a dozen MLAs of the NDA regime, including Chief Minister Arjun Munda and several ministers, for holding offices of profit.

The governor has already referred the cases of these MLAs to the EC, whose opinion may decide the fate of the government, which has the support of just 44 MLAs in an 81-member House.

Although the Assembly, on Thursday, passed a Bill to protect these MLAs, the Opposition UPA has urged the governor not to clear it.

A delegation of Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh, led by Leader of Opposition Jamuna Devi, had met the President on Friday to seek the disqualification of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and nine ministers for allegedly holding offices of profit.

The CM is the chairman of Madhyam, a body registered under the Firms and Societies Act, which they claimed was an office of profit. In Chhattisgarh, the Congress is demanding the resignation of the chief minister and the finance minister while in Rajasthan, it is gunning for three MLAs, including a minister of state.

"We are in no hurry now. You will soon find the Opposition begging us for a review of laws relating to this issue. That will only vindicate our stance and elevate Soniaji's stature in public eye," said the senior Congress leader.