Our President

President plays, Cong sweats
SANJAY K. JHA

New Delhi, Sept. 22: The Congress and the NCP announced a 174-114 seat-sharing arrangement for the Maharashtra polls late tonight after President Pratibha Patil’s hard lobbying for son Rajendra Shekhawat and a few other candidates caused an embarrassing hold-up in the announcement.

With three days left for filing nominations, the Congress high command was faced with a bizarre impasse created by India’s First Lady who, as constitutional head of the nation, is not expected to indulge in politicking of any sort, least of all for family.

Highly placed Congress sources told The Telegraph that at one stage, Patil herself called defence minister A.K. Antony, who is also in charge of Maharashtra affairs, to ensure her son got the nod.

In what might indicate that Rashtrapati Bhavan was getting its way, Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan said Shekhawat had every right to “enter the electoral fray”.

The debate among Congress leaders from Maharashtra centred mostly around Rajendra Shekhawat, whose ticket has become a prestige issue.

The sitting Amravati MLA, Sunil Deshmukh, a highly rated young minister who enjoys the backing of a majority of his cabinet colleagues, refused to oblige the high command and threatened to contest as a rebel candidate. A proposal to accommodate him elsewhere failed to break the impasse.

The Congress leadership admits the wrangling over Shekhawat’s candidacy has been “extremely damaging” both for the party and Rashtrapati Bhavan. Sources said that the President was believed to be pushing for a few more of her acolytes in the Maharashtra Congress, most of them belonging to her Rajput caste.

Sources said the party tried its best to persuade Sunil to opt out as ignoring the President’s wish would be difficult.

Sunil, who has been in Delhi to argue his case against the overpowering influence from Rashtrapati Bhavan, was told by chief minister Ashok Chavan and a few central leaders that the party could not be seen as rebuffing the President at a time other veterans had managed tickets for their relatives.

Sunil refused to buy this logic and expressed his determination to contest from the same constituency. The President’s son, known as Raosaheb, Sunil contended, would prove a weak candidate in comparison.

Sunil apparently warned the leadership that his rebel candidacy would adversely affect the prospects of the Congress in the entire Vidarbha region. Sources said former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh saw merit in this argument and opposed the case of the President’s son.

Although most senior leaders feel the prospects of the President’s son are not very bright, the high command appears unwilling to ignore his case as some of Patil’s other recommendations were not given much importance.

Some posts in the government of India are supposed to be above politics.
These include the office of President, Vice President, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chief Election Commissioner.
It shows how low our government has sunk when the President of India, who is supposed to head the government neutrally should hanker for a seat for her son to fight the elections from the Congress party. Where is the neutrality.
This woman was corrupt before she became a President and there was great hue and cry at the time of her elections.
Even after assuming the august office of the President of India she continues her corrupt ways.
She is the one who is lecturing the nation on corruption and she herself is practising it to the hilt.
What a shameless woman?