A visibly livid Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday led an aggressive counter-attack by the UPA allies, against BJP veteran L K Advani’s portrayal of the UPA-II as “illegitimate,” a remark he withdrew later.
The Congress president was an embodiment of aggression on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, a far cry from her usual composed self, as she vehemently protested Advani’s unceremonious statement made during an adjournment motion on the Assam violence and demanded withdrawal of the remark.
The ensuing chaos forced Speaker Meira Kumar to adjourn the Lower House for an hour. Even Advani’s clarification that he referred to the 2008 confidence vote over the India-US nuclear deal, and not the 2009 general elections, failed to assuage Gandhi, who exhorted the Congress, DMK and TMC MPs to protest.
Gandhi assumed a bellicose stance against Advani and other BJP MPs who came to his defence, as it was the first day for Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as Leader of the House. She also directed Shinde to lodge a formal protest against Advani’s remark.
As soon as Advani charged the government with laundering astronomical sums to buy votes, Gandhi, seated at the front row of the Treasury Bench, told Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy to protest.
Egged on by Gandhi, other Congress leaders like Ashwini Kumar, Adhir Chaudhury, Sanjay Nirupam and Jagadambika Pal also joined the protest.