Rahul’s attack on ordinance spurs demand in Cong for withdrawl

With Rahul Gandhi slamming the ordinance against disqualification of convicted lawmakers, government is expected to take back the controversial measure, Congress indicated on Friday, making a strong pitch for its rollback. “Rahul ji’s opinion is the opinion and the line of Congress... Now Congress party is opposed to this Ordinance. The views of Congress party should always be supreme,” party’s communication department in-charge Ajay Maken said when asked about the fate of the ordinance in wake of Rahul’s views and whether it is likely to be withdrawn.

Soon after Gandhi denounced the ordinance as “complete nonsense” and which “should be torn up and thrown away”, Special Invitee to Congress Working Committee Anil Shastri said on Twitter, “Rahul Gandhi’s condemnation of the ordinance on convicted MPs/MLAs makes the GOI stand on this untenable & it must immediately withdraw it.”

In another tweet, he said, “to save itself from further embarrassment on its controversial ordinance, GOI must take remedial action to save its image in public eye.”

Earlier, also some Congress leaders besides Shastri including Digvijay Singh, Milind Deora and Sandip Dikshit had expressed their reservations against the move.

Deora, who is a union minister, had tweeted, “Legalities aside allowing convicted MPs/MLAs 2 (sic) retain seats in the midst of an appeal can endanger already eroding public faith in democracy”.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit had also opposed the move.

However, the party’s official spokespersons have been maintaining a different stand on the issue backing the government’s move on the ordinance.

Not surprisingly, when Rahul Gandhi, in an unexpected appearance at a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club being addressed by Maken, slammed the ordinance, a clearly flummoxed Maken had to within minutes completely backtrack from his statement praising the ordinance as “perfect”.