After hectic parleys within the Congress high command to defuse the crisis that has enveloped the government and its two leading ministers, the Congress on Tuesday was on a wait-and-watch mode. The ruling party did expect some legal developments in the ongoing 2G case in the Supreme Court by afternoon, but the hearing was subsequently adjourned till tomorrow. Now, Congress sources maintain, the court’s view will be imperative to strategise the next move.
The party is also awaiting the return of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from the US. He is likely to meet the party president Sonia Gandhi here. Significantly, Gandhi met home minister P Chidamabaram and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee separately at her residence yesterday to apprise herself with the details of the ongoing controversy.
As for the PM, he appeared combative on Tuesday. While speaking to reporters onboard his aircraft, Singh stated unambiguously that the Opposition was attempting to “destabilise” the government. “They think they can force elections. This is not the way. This government has the mandate for five years. It will stay its course and we will do so.” He also denied suggestions of dissension within his Cabinet ministers.
Senior leaders in the party continued to deny any rift between the two ministers. Spokesperson Rashid Alvi maintained that Chidambaram has committed no mistake. “There is no question of his resignation.”
All that Mukherjee too has said so far has been to praise Chidambaram describing him as “valued colleague.”
While the PM is returning tonight, Mukherjee who has left for Kolkata will be returning only tomorrow evening. After that, he is slated to meet Singh.
Senior Congressmen believe the matter would be resolved shortly. They hope the issue is unlikely to snowball into a major crisis unless there is something very adverse from the Supreme Court, which is hearing the matter.
As expected, the intervention of the Congress chief yesterday, signalled the stirrings of a resolution of the problem that has besieged the party for the past five days. Ironically, Mukherjee, the UPA’s main ‘trouble shooter’, this time around seemed to have landed the UPA in trouble himself.
After the two meetings at 10 Janpath, the scene shifted to Pranab Mukherjee’s residence where Law minister Salman Khurshid and Minister of State in the PMO, V Narayanasamy held an hour-long deliberation with Mukherjee late last night.
In fact, Khurshid went on to meet the Congress president this afternoon. This, according to party sources, was to apprise Gandhi of the legal ramifications of the March 25 note that had emanated from the Finance ministry. The note which was “seen” by Mukherjee had suggested the complicity of his predecessor Chidambaram in the 2G scam.
Ever since this note surfaced before the apex court, the opposition BJP has started demanding Chidambaram’s resignation as he was purportedly indicted by his own senior colleague. The Congress has been cautiously referring to the matter as being “subjudice”.
Even Mukherjee who has been dogged by a persistent media right from the US to New Delhi and now Kolkata has refused to comment on his ministry’s controversial note, stating that he needed to take “legal opinion” in the matter.
