With Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi cocking a snook at his own Government, the Opposition came out all guns blazing. The BJP sought the resignation of those responsible in the Government for the Ordinance on convicted lawmakers, the Trinamool Congress described the statement as orchestrated and the CPI(M) sought to know the reason behind the delayed reaction.
Describing Rahul's statement as a 'belated realisation of the nonsense', leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said the “heads”, which have produced this nonsense twice in a month should roll.
“If the heads do not roll, then this is only a grandstanding, a charade. Intended to only establish — well the Government makes mistakes, rest of the world makes mistakes, but the first family of the Congress does not make mistakes,” he said shortly after Rahul disapproved of the Manmohan Singh Government's Ordinance on convicted lawmakers.
Jaitley termed Gandhi's opposition to the Ordinance was a 'desperate damage-control exercise'. He said, “In the last few days, there has been a national revulsion against this Ordinance. let us not forget that the subject matter of allowing the convicted politician to be a part of the legislative bodies has been approved by the UPA Cabinet twice — first as a Bill and now as an Ordinance.”
The senior BJP leader argued that Congress supported the idea on both the occasions and Bill was sent to the Standing Committee only because of the Opposition. BJP chief Rajnath Singh said Rahul's statement only underlined the 'well known fact' that there were differences within the Congress. “If this is nonsense (ordinance), what is his comment on the (other) actions of the Congress-led UPAIJ” Singh told reporters in Chennai. BJP general secretary Varun Gandhi tweeted, “If the Prime Minister has even a shred of dignity left, he should resign immediately upon his return to the country”.
The Trinamool Congress termed as 'ludicrous' Rahul's description of the Ordinance. “This is very ludicrous because Rahul Gandhi is the vice-president of the party which runs the Government. How is it that he did not know about the Ordinance placed and passed in the Cabinet dominated by the CongressIJ” Trinamool Congress leader and former Union Minister Saugata Roy said.
Roy said what Rahul Gandhi said was an exercise in damage control and to lift the image of the party tarnished by the proposal for the Ordinance. TMC MP Derek O' Brien said, “While the Prime Minister is in Washington DC, the Congress too is in DC (damage control)”.
BSP chief Mayawati said the Government should not have acted in haste in passing the Ordinance. “The Government should have taken the step only after building consensus,” she said. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury took digs at Rahul, saying, “We have been opposing the Ordinance from day one. Now we have one more supporter”. His party colleague Brinda Karat wondered why Rahul was reacting after so many days when the Ordinance is now before President Pranab Mukherjee.
CPI's D Raja said that finally good sense has prevailed in the Congress. “Rahul Gandhi says the Ordinance should be torn and thrown away. We say all the leaders and the party who brought the Ordinance should be thrown away,” AAP's Arvind Kejriwal said.