CAG first ‘real’ test for team Rahul
Team Rahul could face the first political challenge — the CAG report on the Commonwealth Games and Anna Hazare’s proposed fast against the Lokpal bill — in the absence of the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi who is recovering from a surgery.
Mrs Gandhi underwent surgery at a hospital on August 4. But before leaving abroad for treatment, she constituted a four-member group
comprising Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, defence minister A.K. Antony, Congress president’s political secretary Ahmed Patel and the party general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi, to look after the party affairs.
The group will not only confine to take decisions in the day-to-day affairs in the organisation but could take a political call if the situation demands.
The main Opposition BJP on Friday demanded Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s resignation after her reported indictment in the CAG report and insisted the Prime Minister should clarify as anomalies of this scale were not possible without the consent of higher-ups.
The Congress officials are maintaining silence on whether a general body meeting of the Congress Party in Parliament (CPP) could be called in Mrs Gandhi’s absence. If the insiders are to be believed, it can be called to pass a resolution to wish Mrs Gandhi a speedy recovery.
“Rahul Gandhi can function as a vice-chairman of the CPP,” they said while drawing attention to the vacancies created in the CPP after the induction of P.S. Ghatowar in the Union Cabinet and the suspension of Suresh Kalamadi from the party. Both of them were the office bearers of the CPP. While the insiders don’t rule out a CWC meeting to wish Mrs Gandhi a speedy recovery but her absence could delay the party’s chintan shivir (brain storming session).
A day after the surgery, Mrs Gandhi reconstituted some AICC departments, a cell and made some changes in the work allocation of general secretaries. Meanwhile, a press release issued by the AICC during the day said “Smt. Sonia Gandhi underwent a surgery on 4th August 2011. The surgeon has indicated that the operation was successful. Presently, Smt. Gandhi is in ICU. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra are with her. As this is a personal matter that pertains to her health and medical treatment, her family requests that her privacy be respected,” it says.
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