Should Rahul Pass Go or Play the Jail Card?
The Congress seems to be debating as to whether Rahul Gandhi should appeal the Surat judgement or not. If he doesn’t appeal then his disqualification stands. He could take the moral high ground and opt out of parliamentary politics for the next few years and instead focus on his yatras. This would also help erase the image of a privileged politician that the BJP has painted him with. However, there is a catch: if he does not appeal then he will be facing a jail term, and all said and done, a stint in Tihar is not an easy prospect. Most Congress leaders are pushing for an appeal, arguing that the case of freedom of speech is the larger issue here. In fact this is one question that the Congress party’s Go-To Man for all legal problems, third term MP and Constitutional expert Abhishek Manu Singhvi is dealing with whenever he is asked why he hasn’t yet filed an appeal. In a conversation with NewsX, Singhvi scoffed at the above suggestion and stated that the appeal would soon be filed. His team was working on the logistics such as translating the Surat court judgement, which was in Gujarati. But for those looking for a conspiracy theory, here is one.
A Tell All Autobiography?
Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s autobiography, Azaad, will be released in the capital this week on 5 April. According to his publishers (Rupa) the writer has penned an “honest and unflinching” account of his equations with various Congress leaders and even about his personal equation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The book will talk about how Azad devised a strategy along with Indira Gandhi to bring Rajiv into politics, how he was part of the team that convinced Sonia Gandhi to join politics—and how he played mediator between Rahul Gandhi and Himanta Biswa Sarma. (One wonders if Piddi will make a reappearance.) Given that Azad is one of the last few (ex) Congress leaders who can trace his lineage to Indira Gandhi’s Council of Ministers—another being the late Virbhadra Singh—this book should make for an interesting read.
Desert Surprise
Is Ashwini Vaishnaw the Cabinet Minister Railways, Communications, IT & Telecom tipped to be the dark horse for Rajasthan Chief Minister should the BJP win the state? The affable Vaishnaw is a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, but his roots are in Rajasthan. He is from the Pali district in Rajasthan and grew up in Jodhpur, from where he did his early schooling before joining IIT Kanpur and later on the civil service. In fact, Vaishnaw is a familiar face for those who have covered the Vajpayee PMO, but it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who brought him to Parliament and gave him some very high profile cabinet responsibilities. Given the fractional nature of the Rajasthan BJP, the top leadership could be mulling bringing a Central leader to the state. The other name doing the rounds is Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who is quite active at the state level as well as the Centre. Incidentally, another cabinet minister who traces his roots to the desert state is the low profile Bhupender Yadav, who was born in Ajmer. And then there is always Vasundhara Raje whose claims will not be easy to ignore.
Work Goes On
Most MPs had expected Parliament to adjourn by 29 March and some had even made their plans accordingly. Given the fact that the Union Budget was passed amidst a din with no debate this seemed to be on the cards but the PM clearly is in no mood to oblige. Another reason could be that the BJP’s foundation day is on 6 April and given that this is an election eve-year, the PM perhaps wanted to make a “moment” of it and address all the MPs at the Parliamentary Party before moving on to the functions at the BJP HQ. For whatever reasons, the Parliament is on, even if it is meeting to adjourn.