Rahul Gandhi shut the door on DMK's ministers

It is Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who scripted keeping out Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's members of Parliament T R Baalu and A Raja from the Union Cabinet, say sources.

The script was written two days ago, and the member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi went to the extent of asking his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and senior Congress leaders whether with MPs of its own, shouldn't the Congress project a clean and corruption-free image. Sonia agreed with him, and the formula was put to test.

To remain stubborn in the face of opposition was Rahul's principled stand and he deserves congratulations for this, said a senior Union minister who is privy to such high-level discussions.

Baalu and Raja, shipping and communication minister respectively, landed the previous United Progressive Alliance government in a huge controversy over the Ram Sethu issue and the 3G

spectrum auction.

Rahul Gandhi has been mentioning the need to project a corruption-free image to his close confidants even before the polls. Those who knew the young MP's mindset were not surprised on Friday when the DMK walked out of the discussion table.

This is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has shown startling political acumen. It was his idea to keep Lalu Prasad Yadav out in Bihar before the elections, which paid rich dividends to the Congress party in terms of increased vote share. Similarly, it was he who scripted roping in Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and the National Conference's Farooq Abdullah for the July 22, 2008, trust vote.