The 2-G scam has taken a heavy toll on a major UPA ally – the DMK. Former Telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi are languishing in jail much to the consternation of the DMK supremo Karunanidhi. But the absence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi from her post at a time when Anna Hazare staged his second campaign sent the UPA into another tizzy. Congress fire-fighters did more harm than good and later had to eat humble pie. This is not a healthy sign for a party that has crossed a century. But just as years alone do not add wisdom to a human being so too astuteness does not come with age in any political party. In recent times there has been a virtual tug of war between two senior Congressmen – Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram over the 2-G controversy. The fires of discontent had to be doused by none other than the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
But the schisms within the Congress are palpable. Rahul Gandhi’s tentative stance about taking on the role of chief executive of the UPA and his mother’s ill health has created an ambition of sorts amongst senior Congressmen about filling the vacuum should it arise. Till date no one is any the wiser about what ails Sonia Gandhi. Her illness has been a subject of much speculation. And worse, the ill health of the Congress supremo has not evoked sympathy for her but has fuelled fierce ambitions among senior Congressmen. The travails of attaining ambitions in a political party where the contenders are many and the vacancies so few does bring out the worst in party affiliates. With a prime minister who is not only a lame duck but is increasingly looking like he’s completely losing the plot, things could not be worse for the UPA and by dint of leadership the Congress party.
What emerges out of the recent imbroglio caused by Sonia Gandhi’s absence is the Congress party’s frail health. Here is a party that has needed someone from the Nehru-Gandhi clan to guide its destiny – or so the argument goes. Narasimha Rao was a peculiar exception.
The open rivalry between Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee is not going to die down so easily. It appears that many in the Congress too have their knives out for the Union Home Minister. But should Chidambaram be caught on the 2-G scam the next casualty would be the prime minister, without whose say-so, the deal would not have been struck in the first place. So in all probability the UPA will do its utmost to defend PC. If its fails the UPA will collapse because the PM would be the next to come under the 2-G guillotine. What a toll the airwaves sale has taken!