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Arati R Jerath
NEW DELHI, May 18: The Congress closed ranks behind Sonia Gandhi today with an outpouring of support for her aimed at isolating the dissident trio of Pawar, Sangma and Anwar and scuttling the possibility of a debilitating split in the party.
Buoyed by the success of the mobilisation effort -- which saw a rash of sympathetic resignations by Congress leaders at all levels, including AICC office bearers and chief ministers of the four Congress-ruled states -- Sonia loyalists decided to take the bull by the horns and pave the way for initiating disciplinary action against the rebels. A meeting of the CWC has been called on Thursday which is likely to decide on expelling the trio.
The demand for their expulsion reached a crescendo today in a joint statement from the four Congress chief ministers that condemned the dissidents for ``colluding'' with the BJP. PCC chiefs and leaders of the Congress Legislature Parties in various states are scheduled to meet tomorrow; they will, in all likelihood, echo the chiefministers.
Significantly, one CWC leader indicated that the rebels would not be invited to Thursday's meeting. The party has obviously decided to abandon its earlier cautious approach and go the whole hog against the dissidents.
The confidence of the Sonia loyalists stems from several important developments today. One, former Orissa chief minister J B Patnaik, who was seen as a potential rebel, issued a carefully-worded statement terming the crisis as ``unfortunate''. He ruled out a split in the party and expressed the hope that the matter would be ``thrashed out in the shortest possible time''.
Secondly, the Maharashtra Congress does not seem to fully with Pawar.
Anti-Pawar groups continued to burn his effigies in the State and a leading Pawar loyalist, Gurudas Kamat, criticised the Maratha strongman in a television interview this evening. All these are being seen as indications that Pawar will not be able to carry the entire state unit with him.
With this backdrop, Sonia loyalists began preparingthe ground for summoning an AICC session with the twin purpose of endorsing the party's faith in Sonia and ratifying any action the CWC may take against the rebels.
Thursday's CWC meet is likely to call the session, which will be a show of strength on Sonia's behalf to underline her right to lead the Congress.
With the party going into overdrive to counter the dissidents' challenge, the day was full of drama. Ostensibly, the party is in disarray with Pranab Mukherjee valiantly holding the fort as officiating president. Yet, as a Congress leader confessed, cadre mobilisation was at its peak with a small band of loyalists working silently to rally the party behind Sonia.
What was clear was that Sonia's unexpected move had succeeded in deflecting the debate within the party over her foreign origin to a reiteration of support for her. Even RJD chief Laloo Yadav joined the Congress chorus today with a surprisingly vehement defence describing Sonia as ``the daughter-in-law of the country''.
Sonia remainedadamant about her resignation, despite the rallies, slogans and hunger strikes outside her residence. Those who met her today said that she was terribly hurt by the lack of faith in her. She kept repeating that the sentiments of the rebels were shared by others in the party and that she had only joined politics because of the demand from the Congress rank and file to lead them.
Congress leaders were unsure whether she could be persuaded to retract her resignation but they were hopeful that she might relent after a unanimous demand from the AICC. They seemed to be banking heavily on the indication she gave in her resignation letter that she would be willing to campaign for the party.
CWC calls Bhujbal
MUMBAI: Senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar today said he had no intimation about an extended CWC meeting in New Delhi tomorrow. Pawar who left for Pune tonight, was replying to queries from mediapersons if he would be attending the meeting in which Congress leaders from states are also invited. Hehad yesterday skipped the CWC meeting which rejected Sonia Gandhi's resignation from party presidentship.
Earlier, opposition leader in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Chhagan Bhujbal told reporters that he had received an invite for the extended CWC meet.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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