UPA allies miffed over way ordinance issues was handled

UPA allies and parties supporting the government from outside expressed their reservations over the manner in which the issue of the ordinance on convicted lawmakers was handled with Rahul Gandhi publicly slamming it as "complete nonsense".
Leading the pack, Samajwadi Party described the move as a "conspiracy against democracy" and said that if the ordinance was withdrawn, it "will send a message that one individual is bigger than the government", apparently disapproving Rahul Gandhi's carping criticism on the measure.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said that Rahul Gandhi was "advised wrongly" and that he should have spoken on the issue after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's return to the country from the US.

"I think someone must have advised him on this. I think, they advised him wrongly. While the PM was out, he should have waited for him to come back, then put his point of view directly.
"That would have been the right way....I hope there will be better advisers in future and he will consult other UPA constituents..., find better ways of taking things forward," Abdullah, a Union Minister, said.
NCP leader Tariq Anwar said that had any other person other than Rahul Gandhi raised this matter in Congress, he would have, perhaps, not been forgiven. "Perhaps this is the reason, a special Cabinet meeting has been called. All issues will be discussed."

Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary, however, said that she was "sure that all our allies are on board" and described the possibility of the Cabinet withdrawing the controversial ordinance today as "the natural fallout of the situation".