Former finance minister P Chidambaram’s recent controversial, and often embarrassing, statements are being viewed in the Congress as a sign of his growing frustration with the leadership for not accommodating him in the Rajya Sabha and denying a position to his son Karti in the party’s Tamil Nadu unit.
Chidambaram is not known to speak out of turn and when he does go public, he chooses his words very carefully. Given this reputation, his recent comments and interviews have predictably created a stir in the Congress.
Party insiders maintain that Chidambaram had hoped to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha after he decided not to contest the last Lok Sabha election. He was, in fact, looking to enter the Upper House from Karnataka when elections were held in June.
But there was strong resistance to Chidambaram’s nomination from the Congress’s Karnataka unit, which contended that nobody from Tamil Nadu should be given a ticket from their state. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also put his foot down, insisting that preference be given to state leaders.
Chidambaram again missed the boat in last week’s Rajya Sabha polls when PL Punia and Manorama Sharma were elected on a Congress ticket from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Back in news
The former Union minister had kept a low profile for several months after the Congress’s rout in the general election. Besides making a few statements on the new government’s budget and other financial issues, Chidambaram was barely seen or heard in Delhi. He was busy with his legal practice and with his recently-floated literary forum.
But there has been a clear change over the past month. Chidambaram has spoken to the media on several occasions, making a number of controversial statements.
Chidambaram put the proverbial cat among the pigeons on the eve of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls when he described the Armed Forces Special Powers Act as an “obnoxious act” and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government to bring a bill in the coming winter session of Parliament, amending the existing Act. He also pointed out that as home minister he made several attempts to amend this law but the defence ministry and the armed forces would not agree to these changes.
Message to leaders
He particularly embarrassed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his public statement that the issue of 2G licences could have been handled differently by the then prime minister and that he should have put his foot down instead of waiting for the Supreme Court’s order. At the same time, the former finance minister put himself in the clear, stating that he had suggested that the UPA government cancel the 2G licences but it instead decided to leave the matter to the courts.
Commenting on the state of the Congress after its humiliating electoral defeat, Chidambaram agreed that the morale of party workers was low and urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to be more communicative. He suggested that a non-Gandhi could head the Congress.
“Chidambaram is upset at being denied a Rajya Sabha seat,” said a Congress functionary. “His periodic statements are meant to be a reminder to the Congress leadership that he is still around.”
State politics
Chidambaram’s decision to break his silence coincides with the recent turmoil in the party’s Tamil Nadu unit.
The choice of EVKS Elangovan as the new president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in place of BS Gnanadesikan did not go down well with Chidambaram, whose 42-year-old lawyer son Karti was eyeing the post. If not Karti Chidambaram, the former finance minister would have liked his loyalist KS Alagiri, a former Congress MP, to be elevated to this post.
Karti Chidambaram’s outburst this month has met with derision in the Congress. Questions have been raised about his credentials, especially after his disastrous performance in the last Lok Sabha election. Karti Chidambaram came fourth in Sivaganga and lost his deposit. “After this, how can he aspire to become the Pradesh Congress Committee chief,” asked a senior Congress leader.
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Chidambaram is not known to speak out of turn and when he does go public, he chooses his words very carefully. Given this reputation, his recent comments and interviews have predictably created a stir in the Congress.
Party insiders maintain that Chidambaram had hoped to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha after he decided not to contest the last Lok Sabha election. He was, in fact, looking to enter the Upper House from Karnataka when elections were held in June.
But there was strong resistance to Chidambaram’s nomination from the Congress’s Karnataka unit, which contended that nobody from Tamil Nadu should be given a ticket from their state. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also put his foot down, insisting that preference be given to state leaders.
Chidambaram again missed the boat in last week’s Rajya Sabha polls when PL Punia and Manorama Sharma were elected on a Congress ticket from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Back in news
The former Union minister had kept a low profile for several months after the Congress’s rout in the general election. Besides making a few statements on the new government’s budget and other financial issues, Chidambaram was barely seen or heard in Delhi. He was busy with his legal practice and with his recently-floated literary forum.
But there has been a clear change over the past month. Chidambaram has spoken to the media on several occasions, making a number of controversial statements.
Chidambaram put the proverbial cat among the pigeons on the eve of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls when he described the Armed Forces Special Powers Act as an “obnoxious act” and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government to bring a bill in the coming winter session of Parliament, amending the existing Act. He also pointed out that as home minister he made several attempts to amend this law but the defence ministry and the armed forces would not agree to these changes.
Message to leaders
He particularly embarrassed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his public statement that the issue of 2G licences could have been handled differently by the then prime minister and that he should have put his foot down instead of waiting for the Supreme Court’s order. At the same time, the former finance minister put himself in the clear, stating that he had suggested that the UPA government cancel the 2G licences but it instead decided to leave the matter to the courts.
Commenting on the state of the Congress after its humiliating electoral defeat, Chidambaram agreed that the morale of party workers was low and urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to be more communicative. He suggested that a non-Gandhi could head the Congress.
“Chidambaram is upset at being denied a Rajya Sabha seat,” said a Congress functionary. “His periodic statements are meant to be a reminder to the Congress leadership that he is still around.”
State politics
Chidambaram’s decision to break his silence coincides with the recent turmoil in the party’s Tamil Nadu unit.
The choice of EVKS Elangovan as the new president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in place of BS Gnanadesikan did not go down well with Chidambaram, whose 42-year-old lawyer son Karti was eyeing the post. If not Karti Chidambaram, the former finance minister would have liked his loyalist KS Alagiri, a former Congress MP, to be elevated to this post.
Karti Chidambaram’s outburst this month has met with derision in the Congress. Questions have been raised about his credentials, especially after his disastrous performance in the last Lok Sabha election. Karti Chidambaram came fourth in Sivaganga and lost his deposit. “After this, how can he aspire to become the Pradesh Congress Committee chief,” asked a senior Congress leader.