Be Your Own Woman

Instead of trying to shift responsibility, Sonia must stand up and own up. The buck stops with her. I believe the monumental blunders committed in the past fortnight or so will not necessarily be fatal for the present government. The hurricane will pass. However, lessons need to be learnt—most of all by Sonia Gandhi. The Congress concedes that the events of Goa and, more crucially Jharkhand, need to be studied and digested. Unfortunately, the party is too timid to admit even privately that what was lacking in these past weeks was a clear decision-making process. It is inconceivable that a novice governor aided by two juniors sent from Delhi could have acted independently. The stunt they were proposing was so audacious that consent and concurrence from the high command must have been sought and, presumably, obtained. When the shenanigans to swear in Shibu Soren were in progress, some 10, Janpath advisor should have had the guts and foresight to tell Sonia: "Madam, what we are attempting is not just constitutionally suspect, but it will come back to haunt us. We won't get away with it. We will not only unite our enemies but also our friends into attacking us. It is a suicidal course."

No doubt, when you are running a messy coalition government, hands sometimes do get soiled. Nevertheless, my mythical advisor would have warned Sonia that the Ranchi coup, besides being unclean, was incapable of succeeding. The Congress would not get away with it. Therefore, both on grounds of morality and practicality, the silly Sibtey should have been restrained. The trouble is advisors with guts and foresight are in short supply at 10, Janpath.