Opposition claims credit for ordinance withdrawal

If the decision to withdraw the ordinance to protect convicted MPs prompted the BJP to take credit for it, UPA allies expressed some unhappiness over it. The Left, however, welcomed the move, saying that good sense had prevailed.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, “Only sycophants are crediting Rahul Gandhi for the withdrawal of the ordinance. If Rahul Gandhi had the commitment to fight corruption, why did he remain silent in the Quattrocchi and Robert Vadra cases? He should have also spoken against the Commonwealth Games, 2G and coalgate scams.”

He added that the ordinance had been withdrawn due to pressure from the BJP, the people and finally the President. He also said that the prime minister is in office but has no powers, while 10 Janpath has the powers, albeit without accountability.
UPA allies, however, voiced their unhappiness. Both the partners — the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the National Conference — appeared unhappy after the cabinet meeting.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who was not in agreement with the move, said, “We have communicated our views. What I said was said in complete secrecy. I made my views clear.”

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said, “It was a Cabinet decision then, it is a Cabinet decision now. I am not upset, but I am not happy.”

Earlier, Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal had said that if the ordinance was withdrawn, it would prove that the Gandhi scion was bigger than the central government.

The Left welcomed the move gladly. Senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said he was glad the ordinance was to be withdrawn.

“Why this hurry for an ordinance?  This is what we said was completely wrong. So we are glad it is to be withdrawn. It was unnecessary for the Congress to go through this entire fiasco,” he said, adding that the CPM opposed the ordinance.
However,  CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta termed Manmohan Singh a “shadow prime minister”.

He said that the government first ignored substantial public opinion and pushed the ordinance, and now it's making a U-turn as Rahul Gandhi has spoken strongly against it. This has put the government to shame, he said.

CPI national secretary D Raja said, “The Congress was isolated and embarrassed by this, which forced Rahul Gandhi to make the statement. Finally, good sense prevailed.”