When the 2004 General Elections took place, Ambika Soni and Jairam Ramesh were part of the AICC core team that steered the whole campaign process of the Congress using the Aam Aadmi slogan, and that is why Saturday’s comment by the latter on Ms Soni on the Ramar Sethu issue has surprised many in the party.

While party sources refrained from attributing any “motive” behind Mr Ramesh’s comment beyond a “penchant for giving quotable quotes”, they also said that the public comment might be an indication of new alignments within the party.

The sources, however, said it was too early to analyse what prompted the Minister of State for Commerce to make the comment that if he had been in Ms Soni’s place, he would have resigned in the wake of the Ram Setu affidavit controversy.

At the same time, they conceded that it would be interesting to watch how the two leaders thrash out the “confusion” between the two, particularly as they could again by tasked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to steer the campaign process along with a few other chosen leaders if the General Elections are advanced because of the Left’s possible withdrawal of support on the 123 agreement.

Meanwhile, partymen are waiting to see how Ms Gandhi responds to the development, especially after Ms Soni met her on Saturday explaining the affidavit faux pas and publicly blaming Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam for the fiasco.

“Starting from me anyone who is responsible will have to be answerable but I will not let anybody suffer or become a scapegoat,” Ms Soni had on Saturday after meeting Ms Gandhi. She also said in response to Mr Ramesh’s comment that she would resign if either Ms Gandhi or Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh directed her to.

Ready to relinquish
“I will not take even a minute to relinquish my post if my leaders ask me to do so,” she said. She further said that out of the three corrections suggested in the draft affidavit by her ministry on September 7, only two had been effected.

While two senior Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials have already been suspended in connection with the controversy, she said a departmental inquiry was on to find out who was responsible.

“A major amendment we had wanted to bring about by deleting a line which would cause problems was left intact in the affidavit, which we feel is gross negligence. It cannot be overlooked,” she said.

COURSE ON RAMAYANA
Ram in management books
New Delhi, pti:  Amidst a controversy over the affidavit on Lord Ram filed by the government in the Supreme Court, the warrior prince’s advice to his brother Bharat as he embarked on a 14-year exile in the epic Ramayana has become part of material for management studies.

The episode where Lord Ram is leaving for vanvas has been incorporated in a course on public administration and management by the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthanam, an autonomous body under the Union human resource development ministry.

The course also contains Bheeshma’s advice to Yudhishtir, described in the great epic Mahabharata.
“We have designed a course on public administration and management which is based on relevant aspects of Lord Ram’s advice to Bharat on good governance. The relevant aspects from the Mahabharata will also be included,” its Vice-Chancellor V Kutumbshastri said.

Lord Ram had asked Bharat about 400 questions on governance when the younger brother requested him not to go into exile, Kutumbshastri noted.