JOIN USThe Union Cabinet is meeting tomorrow and may decide to withdraw the controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers in the wake of its denunciation by Rahul Gandhi, who has dubbed it as "complete nonsense" and should be "torn up and thrown away".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who returns from his U S visit tonight, has called the Cabinet meeting tomorrow evening, before which he will meet President Pranab Mukherjee.
The Ordinance is currently before the President, who is said to have raised queries with three ministers he had called last week because of certain reservastions. The President who is leaving on a foreign tour tomorrow afternoon.
The Prime Minister has already said that his government is "seized of all the developments" regarding the ordinance and the issues raised will be considered on his return from the US after due deliberations in the Cabinet.
The talk in government circles is that as there is no set precedent on withdrawing the recommendation to promulgate ordinance, the Prime Minister may himself raise the issue in the Cabinet meet and seek opinion of his colleagues before taking a call.
As the ordinance was the proposal of the Law Ministry, Law Minister Kapil Sibal may raise the issue in the Cabinet. He could bring a proposal to withdraw the earlier Cabinet's recommendation to the President to promulgate the ordinance.
Sources also did not rule out the possibility of Cabinet awaiting the decision of the President on the ordinance.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Parliamentary Affaris Minister Kamal Nath said since the Cabinet had approved the ordinance, "if any changes have to be made, then only the Cabinet can do it. The Prime Minister cannot say I am withdrawing it. I cannot say, you cannot say. Whatever decision is taken, it will be of the Cabinet."