After SC order, Cong top brass in huddle
The Congress top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, on Friday held consultations in the wake of the Supreme Court quashing P.J. Thomas’s appointment as CVC that has come as a major embarrassment to the government.
Though the Congress dubbed as an “error” the appointment of Mr Thomas as CVC rejected demands for the resignation of Dr Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram, the Supreme Court ruling has come as a moral booster for the Opposition ahead the Assembly elections in Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.
The Congress has already been on the defensive on the issues of 2G spectrum scam, CWG, Adarsha housing in Mumbai, the Left front would try to exploit these issues along with Mr Thomas’s appointment during the election meetings.
The Congress is also working on an alternative strategy to counter the BJP’s campaign on corruption issues if the main Opposition makes the PM and Mrs Gandhi the target of its attack.
But the party is finding it difficult to defend Mr Chidambaram after the two issues — his handling of a Telangana state demand and Mr Thomas’s appointment.
“Absolutely not”, was the refrain of the Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi in reply to a volley of questions including whether the PM and the home minister should quit owning moral responsibility for the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner.
“It is completely wrong to politicise what is a legal verdict based on legal considerations... I disagree your generalisation that what is legally wrong is morally wrong,” he said.
Mr Singhvi said that “error is there and that is why court has intervened in the matter”.
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