Renounciation or Desperation?

Sonia Gandhi staged her second act of renounciation by quitting as an MP and also as Chairperson of the NAC. The act while as she put it “was the right thing to do” and saw all her loyalists staged demonstrations akin to the scenes of May 2004. The Congress has hailed this as another proof of how sacrifice and selflessness has become the hallmark of Sonia Gandhi's brand of politics. Also, she has tried to checkmate her opponents into falling her footsteps and quit their posts. However, all such explanations and grand standing cannot defend the indefensible, the fact remains that she was forced to quit because of the manner in which the Government was trying to defend her by bringing in an ordinance through the backdoor. The whole issue of the office of profit was ironically started by a Congress politician who was pitted against Jaya Bachchan for the House of Elders. The move, which some say, was the idea of the cotorie around Gandhi to get back at the Bachchans seems to have backfired and with far reaching consequences. The Gandhis known not to forgive disloyality and opposing views wanted to get back at Bachchan and the SP in general but seem to have ended on the losing side themselves. The shoddy manner in which Parliament was adjourned was the hay that broke the camel's back and the ensuing drama that followed was for all to see.

The first act of renounciation did give Sonia the moral high ground in the politics of a country known for its power struggles and “kursi” politics. For a leader to reject a post that many spend years to achieve did make Sonia Gandhi the politician who was different. However, this time around the act of humble renounciation seemed put on and their was no denying the fact that the pressure was really on her to act. She has tried to gain political mileage out of such a decision keeping in mind the assembly elections barely a month away. If, as the Congress says, the proposed ordinance on office of profit was indeed to include all members who fall under the basis for disqualification, then what was the need for Gandhi to resign? She should have weathered the storm as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee is doing. The very fact that she resigned proved that she was holding a position that is unlawful in the country and also tried to change the very rules that governed her disqualification. To term the resignation as an act of sacrifice is not only fancilful it is also meant to gain as much political support as possible to improve the Congress' chances at the Hustings.