Ordinance aimed only at 'saving' Lalu Prasad, says BJP

The BJP today said Congress sought to issue the ordinance on lawmakers in a hurry to "save" its ally Lalu Prasad, in case he is convicted in the fodder case on September 30.

"If ordinance is not issued before the 30th and if there is a judgement negative against him, then he will lose his membership," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told a press conference here.

Asked if the intention of the ordinance is to "save" Prasad, he said: "Undoubtedly", adding, the Congress also wanted to save one of their MPs, Rasheed Masood, who was convicted recently, and the party is expecting such judgements in case of some others also.

On Rahul Gandhi's denunciation of the ordinance on lawmakers and attack on government, Naidu said the "real intention" of the Congress Vice-President is to "show" the Prime Minister "who the real boss is".

The ordinance was not an overnight development, he pointed out. It was approved by the core group chaired by the Congress government and was cleared by the Cabinet. It was earlier moved as a bill.

"The Supreme Court gave a judgement on the convicted 'netas' on July 10. Even the review petition filed by the UPA government was rejected on 4th September. For two months and 25 days, neither Rahul Gandhi nor the Congress Party has said anything against this move of the Government", Naidu noted.

Rahul chose to speak against the ordinance after "condemnation from all quarters" against the move and President Pranab Mukherjee questioning its objective, he alleged.

"The belated blistering attack on the ordinance is a well orchestrated political stunt to salvage the image of the party," Naidu said.

He said the Prime Minister's image has already reached "lowest ebb. "I don't think any PM has suffered such humiliation. After this action of the Congress leadership, which undermined the authority of Prime Minister, no body will take him seriously in future. The only way is to step down and go for early elections".