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Sonia rethinks topple-Vajpayee operation

George Iype in New Delhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi's plans to bring down the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government with the Ayodhya controversy as the main weapon appears to have petered out, thanks to pressure from a section of senior party leaders.

Insiders indicate that Sonia's "oust Vajpayee strategy" has run out of steam as the apex Congress Working Committee is divided on the Ayodhya issue. Two former party presidents are understood to have advised her against pulling down the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.

Ever since the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's temple construction plans at Ayodhya came to light, the Congress president has held a number of informal CWC meetings to prepare a political blueprint aimed at finalising a possible Congress-led coalition at the Centre.

Senior CWC members like Sharad Pawar, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Madhavrao Scindia, Ahmed Patel, Tariq Anwar, Pranab Mukherjee and Dr Manmohan Singh have consistently argued that Ayodhya could be the right handle for the Congress to beat the BJP with, in the process using the widespread opposition to formalise an anti-BJP alliance.

But senior Congressmen such as former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and former party president Sitaram Kesri have advised "utmost restraint" on the Ayodhya issue.

Sonia personally sought Rao's views on Ayodhya, meeting him at his Motilal Nehru home on Wednesday.

Sources said Rao, during whose tenure the Babri Masjid was razed at Ayodhya in 1992, urged Sonia not to take any "precipitate decision" on Ayodhya till the party prepares a foolproof, concrete political plan to replace the Vajpayee government.

Meanwhile Kesri who, ironically, pulled down the two United Front governments last year, also shared Rao's view and advised against any precipitate action. Senior CWC members like Arjun Singh, Jitendra Prasada and Sushil Kumar Shinde have meanwhile suggested that the party should wait for the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

The feeling among a section of Congress MPs is that the party, which has already lost the confidence of Muslim voters, will only alienate the Hindu community if it brings down the Vajpayee government on the Ayodhya issue.

"A hard line on the Ayodhya issue at this juncture is counter-productive," a Congress MP from north India told Rediff On The NeT.

"The Congress has apologised many times for the Ayodhya demolition, but the apologies have not brought Muslims over to our side. By making a hue and cry on the VHP's move to construct the temple, the Congress is all set to lose in the political game," he said.

According to him, even the Shankaracharya of Dwarka, who had earlier supported the Congress stand on Ayodhya, is now irked by the confused signals from the party leadership.

"There is clearly a division within the party on Ayodhya, and Sonia is just being pulled from all directions within the party," he added.

While Sonia's backtracking on the topple-Vajpayee move is complete, she will in the coming days meet various Opposition leaders from the Left Front, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party in an effort to sharpen the Opposition attack on the government when Parliament goes into its next session, in July.

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