Apropos the report "Govt wrong in shielding convicted netas: Rahul" (September 28), it is important to ask why Rahul Gandhi remained silent when the government brought the law, for annulling the Supreme Court verdict on convicted MPs and MLAs in the Parliament and, after failing to get the Parliament's clearance, the cabinet hastily cleared the ordinance and sent it for presidential approval. However, it doesn't seem possible that Rahul may have publicly slammed the ordinance and his party's government without Sonia Gandhi's consent. It is possible that alarmed by the sharp media and public criticism and the President's reservations, this may be a part of their strategy to avoid direct confrontation between the Congress president and party's government and to provide an escape route to the highly embarrassed party. Anyhow, with the President not inclined to clear the ordinance and the government set to withdraw it, the good work has been done but only partly. The notorious law cleared by the Rajya Sabha and pending with the Standing Committee of the Parliament needs to be dumped. This episode has exposed the Congress leaders who were earlier vigorously justifying the ordinance and later started singing to Rahul's tune.
M C Joshi Lucknow
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