Asserting that Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the ordinance on convicted lawmakers indicated imbalance in views of the ruling UPA, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh should quit without any further delay if there is any self-respect left in him.
"If there is any self respect left in Manmohan Singh, the honourable Prime Minister, he should quit without further delay, He should come back from America, resign. And it is better for the government to go the people rather than continuing this indecisive, incoherent, incompetent, inefficient government," he told media in Bangalore.
BJP Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi echoing similar sentiments questioned whether the Congress-led UPA II Government is a theatrical production house.
"Rahul Gandhi made his presence felt in a very dramatic way and after a very long time. Rahul Gandhi came to the forefront with an unsuccessful, dramatic and defeated story and he came to tell that whatever government is doing, it has nothing to do with the Congress Party," he told media in Raipur.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier written a letter to the Prime Minister regarding his views on the ordinance.
"I realize that what I feel about the Ordinance is not in harmony with the Cabinet decision and the Core Group's view. I also know it would be exploited by our political opponents. You know that I have the highest respect for you and I look up to you for your wisdom," said Gandhi in his letter.
"I have nothing but the greatest admiration for the manner in which you are providing leadership in extremely difficult circumstances. I hope you will understand the strength of my own conviction about this very controversial issue," he added.
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In a major embarrassment to the ruling UPA, Rahul Gandhi yesterday dubbed the ordinance to negate the Supreme Court verdict on convicted lawmakers as 'complete nonsense', and said it should be torn up and thrown away.
"I personally think what the government is doing on the ordinance is wrong. It was a political decision, every party does it, and there is a time to stop this nonsense," he said.
The Prime Minister yesterday issued a statement from Washington saying the matter will be reconsidered after his return to India.
"The Ordinance cleared by the Cabinet pertaining to the Representation of the People Act has been a matter of much public debate. The Congress Vice-President has also written to me on the issue and also made a statement," said Dr. Singh in a statement.
"The Government is seized of all these developments. The issues raised will be considered on my return to India after due deliberations in the Cabinet," he added.
The developments came a day after President Pranab Mukherjee summoned senior Cabinet ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde, Kamal Nath and Kapil Sibal for consultations on the ordinance pending before him for signature.
The Union Cabinet had approved an ordinance to reverse the Supreme Court judgment mandating the immediate disqualification of lawmakers convicted for a criminal offence punishable with a jail term of more than two years.
The ordinance seeks to reverse the Supreme Court judgement that had not only disqualified lawmakers convicted of offences with two years or more in jail, but also barred from contesting elections.
