It would be just desserts for a self-serving entity like the Congress(I), which has plunged the nation in the throes of a political crisis not once, but twice, in the short period of nine months, to be dragged to the court of the people. Only this will end the farce of the nation being held at gunpoint by a party which had clearly lost the people’s mandate in the 1996 general elections. By hanging on to its whimsical and totally unjustifiable demand that the United Front drop the three DMK Ministers from the Union Cabinet, the Congress(I) once again played the politics of subversion. That this demand should be based on the interim report of the Jain Commission, which has made nothing beyond sweeping allegations on the DMK’s links with the LITE and its involvement in the assassination of the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, is ridiculous to say the least. The Congress(I), more than any other party, should have avoided the temptation of pointing an accusing finger at another organisation. For it was the one that brushed under the carpet the Thakkar Commission’s findings in the Indira Gandhi assassination case, which had equally pointed an accusing finger at one of the General Secretaries of the Congress(I), Mr. R. K. Dhawan...

President weighing options

The uncertainty over whether the country is heading for a snap poll or is poised to witness the formation of yet another coalition Government continued to persist today, with neither of the three principal political formations — the United Front, the Congress (I) and the BJP — offering a viable solution to resolve the deadlock. As a result, a day after the resignation of the Gujral Government, the focus was decisively shifted to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

comment COMMENT NOW