Congress core group junks ordinance, Cabinet to meet today

But says allies should be taken on board before withdrawing ordinance

The Congress Core Group has asked the Cabinet to reconsider the ordinance designed to protect convicted leaders from losing their seats, TV reports said.

The group, though, said that allies should be taken on board before withdrawing the ordinance.

The Prime Minister, thereafter, met President Pranab Mukherjee and conveyed the Congress Core Group's decision on the ordinance.

The core group meet held at PM's residence saw party chief Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel and others in attendance.

 

Earlier in the morning, Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence to discuss the controversial ordinance. In the 25 minute meeting, Rahul Gandhi is understood to have explained his reasons for opposing the move that will protect convicted lawmakers from immediate disqualification. 

A special Cabinet meeting has been called at 6 pm today. The whole issue of the ordinance will be discussed in the Cabinet, which will take a collective view about what to do with the ordinance.

The schism between the Congress Party and the government appeares to have deepened as PM made no effort to hide his irritation at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's outburst about the proposed ordinance.

 

To a question whether he would have preferred that Rahul Gandhi had made his remarks when he was in the country, Singh said, in an uncharacteristically acid tone: “Well I am not the master of what people say. It has happened and as I said when I go back I will try to find out the reasons why it had to be done that way and how do we handle it.”

 

He was asked: "Were you upset?" 

 

“I have been used to ups and downs and I don’t get easily upset” the PM said.

 

That all was not well with him and the Congress party, despite all the fulsome praise that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had showered on him to make up for Rahul's attack, was clear in the morning after the PM arrived and met Sonia Gandhi at Raj Ghat.

 

It is courteous for all leaders to wait until the Prime Minister has left. Sonia Gandhi and the PM saw each other, greeeted each other and sat down. After a while, Gandhi, almost as if she had suddenly remembered something, got up and walked out. Sheila Dikshit and Kamal Nath saw her leaving and scrambled to their feet to escort her out. Neither of the Gandhi children was accompanied by Sonia which is usually the case.

Where does the ordinance stand now? 

 

It has been considered by an all party meeting and discussed in the core committee, which is essentially a party cum government forum. It has also been sent to the President of India for his concurrence.