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Congressmen waited for six years to see Sonia Gandhi's entry into their party.
The leaders are hoping that the party would regain the old glory of Nehru-Gandhi
era and recapture the lost power as and when the elections are held. According to
their game-plan, Sonia Gandhi has to be made an active member to make her eligible
for holding any post in the party. As the organisational elections are
approaching, they want her role in the formation of the party structure.
Secondly, they want to see her as a CWC member so that she can decide the Congress
candidates In the next elections with the help of a puppet president. At the next
stage, she should demonstrate her popularity among the masses through meetings and
rallies in chosen centres, retaining the mysticism of her personality.
Congress leaders also hope that by-and-by minorities would come to Congress if she
is seen in command. Apart from this, they expect that the demoralised Congressmen
would be electrified under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. Sycophants have already
started using vaulting words. The former state minister Girdhar Gomango said, "She
is the power station. The Congress president is a bulb which lights up because of
her." Congressmen in general see a great unifier in Sonia Gandhi. The legendary
charisma of Nehru-Gandhi family, her age and glamorous personality are added
factors which they think would tilt the electoral balance in the party's favour.
This scenario presupposes the leadership qualities of Sonia Gandhi which have
never been tested. One doesn't know about her thinking, vision, academic
furniture, organisational and administrative skills. Being an Italian-born
naturalised citizen of India, her perceptions about this vast ancient country and
its people may be found wanting. The dreamy scenario of the Congress leaders
ignores the hard realities of historic downslide of Congress support base. During
the last decade-and-a-half Congress didn't win in any general election because of
its strength. The victory of 1984 could not have happened if Indira Gandhi had
not been assassinated. Again in 1991, Congress was in a position to form the
minority government only because Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in between the
elections. The second phase of the polls. favoured the Congress. Had the trend of
the first phase continued and had Rajiv Gandhi been alive, Congress may not have
crossed 180 mark in the Lok Sabha polls of 1991.
In the last general election Congress could only win 140 seats and lost the
primacy in the polity for the first time in history. Its voting percentage came
down to 28, the lowest in all the eleven general elections. Since 1996 elections,
Congress fortunes have further taken a dramatic plunge. More than a hundred
Congress leaders are embroiled in the corruption cases. The faces of almost all
the leaders of the Congress have been blackened. A number of opinion polls have
been conducted since then, indicating the rapid downfall Of the Congress in the
people's esteem. If Lok Sabha elections are held today, Congress may not touch
three figures. As on this day, the Congress is in a shambles. The party is
terminally sick.
To think that Sonia Gandhi would create miracles for the party is absurd and
wishful thinking. The point which should be noted in this connection is that even
the most youthful and attractive leader of this dynasty Rajiv Gandhi too could not
cheek the historic process of downslide of the Congress in 1989 and in 1991. To
presume that his foreign wife would do what the star of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty,
Rajiv Gandhi, could not do, is nothing but a day dreaming of bankrupt leaders.
Sonia Gandhi cannot perform as a survival kit of the Congress for she herself may
prove to be a liability rather than an asset. Bofors scandal prosecution has not
yet been started. Investigations are in the final stages. CBI has fool-proof
evidence that Rajiv Gandhi saw to it that the principal secretary to the then PMO
Sarla Grewal did not get the wind of Bofors deal. Instead, he did it through a
comparatively junior officer, Gopi Arora. This man is going to be chargesheeted.
In 1988, when the scandal had come to light, Bofors company announced that two of
its top officers would come to Delhi to clarify the position publicly, but Rajiv
Gandhi sent a message to the company virtually suggesting these officers should
not be sent.
Well-placed sources in the CBI indicate that the agency was on the verge of
questioning Sonia Gandhi on Bofors. The Swiss documents relating to Bofors scandal
had arrived a month and a half ago. The timing of Sonia's decision to be a member
also confirms the suspicion as to what prompted her to become the primary member
which she avoided for five years despite repeated requests by Congressmen.
Finally, she put her signature on the membership form on March 21, 1997 i e, a
month and a half back. Now it is a well-known fact that Ottavio Quattrocchi, an
Italian businessman, had been paid Rs 24 crore by the shady AE Services in 1986 as
part of the kickbacks for the Howitzer guns. The money was deposited in a Swiss
bank named by Quattrocchi. Is it not surprising that in a deal with the
government of India and a company of Sweden, an Italian businessman, Quattrocchi,
got the kickback?
All these facts have documentary basis provided by the Swiss authorities recently.
CBI, has evidence and photographs, to prove the close relationship between Rajiv
family and Quattrocchi. This Italian businessman has confirmed it by his
statement. Now chargesheets are coming against Gopi Arora, a senior officer in PMO
during Rajiv days, former defence secretary S K Bhatnagar and others. Some members
of SIT suggested that Sonia's name be included in the list. It may be noted that
she gave the form to party chief of Delhi, Choudhary Prem Singh, and told him
specifically not to publicise the matter. She gave green signal for announcement
when she learnt about the possibility of being questioned by the CBI. If this be
the case, her decision to Join the party, at best, is a defence strategy for
herself .
There are many other skeletons in Sonia's cupboard. For example, Dr Manmohan
Singh in his first budget made a provision of Rs 100 crore for Rajiv Foundation.
There was a lot of criticism of the move. Ultimately, Sonia Gandhi refused to
accept the grant. Nevertheless, Rs 200 crore has been channelised through various
public sector corporations and government grants, including that of HRD ministry,
to Rajiv foundation. Tax-payers have a right to know as to why it was done. The
Parliament has a right to ask for the annual reports and audit reports of Rajiv
Foundation. The way the office constructed for Congress headquarters on Rajendra
Prasad Road, worth hundreds of crores of rupees, has been usurped by Rajiv
Foundation, amply shows the working of Sonia's mind. The Congress leaders and
workers are chanting the mantra before her to lead the party. For them, Sonia is
the last straw.
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