PARTYVS GOVERNMENT COVER STORY Trouble at the Top

The spiralling trust deficit between Prime Minister and Congress President becomes a crisis in Government as well as party

By Kumar Anshuman political Delhi. It took two unconvincing statements and Bhavna Vij-Aurora by Congress General Secretary on May 12 and May 13 to deny the split at the top. n May 10, Manish After nine years in Government, the political am- bitions of Manmohan and Sonia are at clash point. Tewari, Union infor- The trust deficit is widening. With the mation and broad- elections fast approaching, both sides are position- casting minister, was ing themselves—Manmohan for a dignified exit, if not a third term, and Sonia for a clean slate for son sounded out to make , the recently anointed Congress vice- public a statement on president who is her designated heir. Both Othe Prime Minister’s behalf on the Manmohan and Rahul have, deliberately or other- wise, played an equal part in muddying the waters. resignations of Union ministers At the Rashtrapati Bhavan on April 5, during the Pawan Bansal and Ashwani Kumar. Padma awards ceremony, the Prime Minister told The statement, drafted by the Prime mediapersons that he was neither confirming nor ruling out another term, throwing his hat into the Minister’s Adviser TKA Nair, never ring for an unprecedented third term in office. Could reached Tewari. It was killed by it be that Manmohan, who was once described by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha as an overrated econo- Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s mist and underrated politician, saw an opportunity Political Secretary, Ahmed Patel. in the dithering of Rahul, who continues to show no Over the next few days, rumours of appetite for the highest office in the land? Manmohan’s path to a third prime ministerial the clash between 7 Race Course bid is littered with obstacles. Virtually every scam Road and 10 Janpath enveloped that has hit UPA over the last three years has found

SONIA GANDHI (LEFT) AND MANMOHAN SINGH AP May 27, 2013 ◆ TODAY 19 NEW COVER STORY PARTYVS GOVERNMENT its way to the Prime Minister’s desk. In Manmohan needs to explain why he did Manmohan’s advisers fear that for managed to get Kumar inducted into There were strong arguments from and Bansal, the Congress was quick to the 2G scam, Manmohan has never fully not stop Suresh Kalmadi’s wrongdoings all his loyalty, the Gandhis may prefer to the Cabinet with the weighty law port- both sides. At 8 p.m., Patel arrived at 7 give credit to Sonia and Rahul, rather explained why he did not stop then tele- when his own Cabinet minister, Mani heap the blame of UPA’S failures on him folio. According to sources, Manmohan Race Course Road to deliver another than Manmohan, for taking action com minister A. Raja from perpetrating Shankar Aiyar, had forewarned him. to put themselves in the clear. The case was worried about the investigations blow to Manmohan. He had strong ob- against the tainted ministers. “The quite brazenly a scam of gigantic pro- Instead, he replaced the minister. The of P.V. Narasimha Rao, whose name and and the court cases in 2G, Coalgate and jections to the paragraph on Kumar in Congress president and Rahul Gandhi portions. That he has resisted giving an consequences are straightforward. The achievements have been wiped clean the ISRO case and wanted someone he the proposed statement and argued never tolerate corruption and that is explanation to the Joint Parliamentary man, who has always been known for from the party’s history books, is a could bank on to save him from culpa- that it was not the right message to why they took the resignations of the Committee has only buoyed suspicion. ending India’s economic stagnation and warning for Manmohan’s men. For bility. Kumar was handpicked by Man- send to the public. The Prime Minister two ministers,” Congress spokesperson In Coalgate, the Prime Minister was also for stopping the nation’s international Congress, the honest PM has become a mohan to steer him out of the cases is believed to have put his foot down Bhakta Charan Das said. the coal minister when the controver- nuclear isolation with the India-US nu- liability in electoral terms. But his man- where his name had come up. and refused to alter the statement. The Prime Minister’s assertiveness sial allocations, now under investiga- clear deal, may now become more fa- agers also know Sonia has limited alter- It was no surprise then that the Since the duo could not reach an agree- over the last few months has not gone tion by CBI, were made. Even on the mous for presiding over the most natives. She could replace Manmohan, Prime Minister was reluctant to let ei- ment, the statement was never issued. down well with the party. He knows Commonwealth Games scam in 2010, corrupt Government in Indian history. but any replacement other than Rahul ther man, both his loyalists, go despite Soon after the resignation of Kumar Congress needs him more than vice at this stage will make that person the the strong smell of scandal surround- presumptive 2014 prime ministerial ing them. Kumar had been in the line 1 GURSHARAN KAUR candidate. Manmohan and Sonia are of political fire after CBI told the 1 RAHUL GANDHI Manmohan’s wife is active as locked in an uncomfortable embrace. Supreme Court on April 26 that the The heir apparent, his reluc- an adviser. Has her own team, The tensions are bound to simmer even minister had vetted and modified a CBI tance to step in is the source including Planning Commission if the endgame unfolds months later. report on the coal scam. Bansal’s fate of most trouble. His pro- Deputy Chairman Montek Singh ought to have been sealed on May 3 longed apprenticeship has Ahluwalia’s wife Isher. LEGACYAGAINSTFUTURE when it was reported that CBI was in- allowed the Prime Minister to 2 MONTEK SINGH The clash between Manmohan’s place in vestigating his nephew for accepting a strengthen his position. AHLUWALIA Manmohan’s history and Rahul’s moment of reckoning bribe from a railway official in return 2 AHMED PATEL trusted man from the 1990s. The public statements on perfect har- for a plum post on the Railway Board. Sonia’s troubleshooter, the mony between Sonia and Manmohan Even on May 10, Manmohan had 3 TKA NAIR man who liaises between her are only a thin veil on a relationship that not given up. He was hoping to save at Working with Manmohan since and the Prime Minister. has soured in recent weeks. Sources least Kumar and issue a strong state- 2004, first as his principal sec- 3 in PMO claim the tension is palpable ment clarifying that neither man had retary, and now as adviser.The when they meet. The most serious dif- been implicated. According to sources Enjoys support of both Sonia Prime Minister kept him on ference of opinion between the Prime in the PMO, the Prime Minister’s adviser, and Rahul.Vocal on issues despite Sonia thrusting Pulok Minister and the Congress president TKA Nair, prepared a statement to but he usually has licence. Chatterjee on him in 2011. arose over the fate of senior ministers somewhat soften the blow on the two Is used to float theories. 4 KAPIL SIBAL Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Bansal. ministers. The statement said that the Wants Rahul to replace Trusts him completely. Kumar, who was asked to resign as CBI inquiry on Bansal was still on and Manmohan. Manmohan always falls back on Union law minister, was Manmohan’s though “nothing illegal has been 4 JANARDAN DWIVEDI him in need, whether it is the personal choice for the job. proven against Mr Bansal, he has Is a no-changer. Important 2G case or Coalgate. Bansal, a long-time MP from Chan- stepped down for the sake of propriety member of the transition digarh, was elevated to the crucial rail- and a fair probe in the matter”. On 5 ASHWANI KUMAR team, tries to keep balance of ways portfolio in October 2012. The Kumar, the statement said that An integral part of his party and Government but of Prime Minister forced Sonia’s hand on “Ashwani Kumar resigned because of Chandigarh Club. He course with a Sonia bias. both Kumar and Bansal’s appointments perception and his resignation should owes his rise in Govern- during the Cabinet reshuffle of 2012. At not be seen as corruption. He has not 5 A.K. ANTONY ment to the Prime Minister. TEAM that time, Surface Transport Minister been indicted by the Supreme Court in Silent but Sonia’s trusted TEAM 6 PAWAN BANSAL C.P. Joshi was holding additional charge any way”. The statement was shared hand.The AgustaWestland scam has dented his image. He was Manmohan’s of railways following the resignation of with Principal Secretary in PMO, Pulok SONIA MANMOHAN choice for railways and Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister Chatterjee, and was sent to Sonia’s 6 PULOK CHATTERJEE The Chandigarh Club beat Gandhi loyalist C.P. Mukul Roy in September. Joshi, a adviser Ahmed Patel. Sources claim He is Manmohan’s principal The Congress old is firmly behind the Joshi to become the first Gandhi family loyalist, was the choice of that there was nothing unusual in the secretary but reports guard still swears Prime Minister. Congress minister to hold both Sonia and Rahul for the railway statement being sent to Patel as cor- mostly to Sonia. by its president. that portfolio in 17 years. portfolio and had even started appoint- respondence on Cabinet matters is ing officials of choice and holding meet- routinely shared between the two. ings at the ministry on a revival plan for At 6 p.m. on May 10, Sonia went to the railways. Manmohan didn’t want call on the Prime Minister at 7 Race him, preferring Bansal who was han- Course Road. Manmohan tried to save dling water resources and parliamen- Kumar by offering to drop Bansal. 6 5 tary affairs. He had his way. Sonia turned it down. She was 4 2 4 5 In the same reshuffle, Manmohan adamant that both had to resign. 3

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versa. In March, party General well as providing food to a child from his own group of advisers. Some party Secretary Digvijaya Singh, a leader From Chosen One to Dr Dolittle,India Today has captured the ma ny phases of the Sonia-Manmohan relationship the age of six months. These were leaders claim that on the lines of the close to the Gandhis, told a news chan- DUELLING DUO removed at the instance of the Govern- Congress Core Committee, Manmohan nel that the dual-centres-of-power ment. Sonia resisted. The Government has the Kaur Committee which in- experiment was not working. He said, was then asked to make a presentation cludes his wife Gursharan Kaur, his ad- “There should not be two power centres of the draft before the Congress presi- viser Nair and Nair’s wife, and Planning and I think whoever is the prime minis- May 16, 2005 dent and these points were included. Commission Deputy Chairman Montek ter must have the authority to function Maximum leader Manmohan did strike back. In June Singh Ahluwalia and his wife Isher. although Sonia Gandhi has really never and minimum 2012, he ordered the removal of Harsh Manmohan is especially fond of Nair. interfered in the Government’s func- May 31, 2004 August 31, 2004 prime minister Mander, a prominent activist and a When Sonia sent Pulok Chatterjee to tioning.” The party went into damage Manmohan Singh Who is the real affect governance staunch proponent of the Food Security the PMO in October 2011, Manmohan control immediately, publicly stating is Sonia Gandhi’s power centre in over PSU disin- Bill, from Sonia’s National Advisory did not get rid of Nair who has been that the system has worked well and Council (NAC) and replaced him with with him since 2004 and insisted on chosen one, Congress, Sonia vestment, bureau- that it would be like that in future too. economist Mihir Shah. Privately, senior keeping him on as an adviser. Behind the scenes, party sources say becomes PM or Manmohan? crat appointments. Congress leaders do admit to a growing In fact, Manmohan and his advisers Digvijaya’s missive was an alert mes- rift in the party played out by the lieu- were planning a counterattack on his sage for the Prime Minister that the tenants of Manmohan and Sonia. After detractors in the last two days of Congress was not happy with his han- the Congress session in Jaipur in Parliament’s Budget session when CAG dling of issues. This was also a move to January, a group of Congress leaders was scheduled to table its report in push Rahul into replacing Manmohan. January 17,2011 headed by Digvijaya surfaced which is the Rs 3,546-crore AgustaWestland demanding that Congress should face chopper scam. The audit report of After a series July 11, 2011 PM VERSUS PARTYPRESIDENT the 2014 elections under Rahul’s lead- the scam was ready and a copy each July 21, 2008 of scams, Sonia Power struggle and On appointments, economy and corrup- ership. Over the years, the Prime had been sent to the President and the and Manmohan’s tion, there is attack and counterattack Sonia and friction over gover- Minister has also developed his own co- finance minister on April 29. The PM In April, the Prime Minister wanted Manmohan work popularity takes a nance between terie of favourites sometimes called the was keen that it be tabled in Parliament. Nair to go to Jammu and Kashmir to together to save hit in Mood of the Congress leaders Chandigarh Club, comprising Bansal, Fingers would have been pointed at replace N.N. Vohra as governor. Sonia the government Nation poll fracture UPA 2 Kumar, Kapil Sibal and others. Apart Defence Minister Antony, a trusted aide pre-empted this and sought a second from these favourites, Manmohan has of Sonia and a potential candidate for five-year term for Vohra, a Punjab cadre IAS officer known for his proxim- ity to Manmohan. She let it be known Manmohan and Sonia have never seen eye- to him too that it was her decision. to-eye on economic policy. He is pro-free Manmohan and Sonia have clashed on market and she believes in a larger role for the appointments before. The first time was state.There have been serious differences on when Sonia ensured the removal of Manmohan’s media adviser Sanjaya the Government’s proposed Food Security Bill. Baru during UPA 1 because he was try- ing to project Manmohan’s persona. In Gandhi family when he was district could rake up these issues. Finally, September 2010, the Prime Minister in- magistrate of Rai Bareilly in the 1980s. Antony’s choice went through. sisted on the appointment of the tainted Manmohan and the party were also Manmohan and Sonia have never P.J. Thomas as central vigilance com- divided on the appointment of a new seen eye-to-eye on economic policy. He missioner, overriding objections by BJP Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is pro-free market and she strongly be- leader Sushma Swaraj who was part of to succeed Vinod Rai. While Manmohan lieves in a larger role for the state. the selection committee. Thomas was a was in favour of Planning Commission Unsurprisingly, there have been seri- former telecom secretary who con- Secretary Sindhushree Khullar—her ous differences on the Government’s trolled the fallout of the 2G scam. husband Rahul Khullar, the current TRAI proposed Food Security Bill. The dis- Finally, it was Sonia who prevailed on chairman, was private secretary to content was also visible in the draft Manmohan to ask Thomas to resign. Manmohan when he was finance min- Food Security Bill in July 2011. While That followed the more familiar ister—the party led by Defence Minister Sonia was adamant on an all-encom- trend of Sonia forcing the issue on key A.K. Antony was batting for Defence passing Bill, the Government was not appointments. In 2011, she forced the Secretary S.K. Sharma. Khullar was ready to accept those points consider- Prime Minister to remove his trusted P. Chidambaram’s choice too. The party ing the financial implications and the aide Nair as principal secretary in PMO didn’t want Khullar because she was ballooning fiscal deficit. Among the to replace him with her loyalist Pulok sports secretary at the time of the specific points of contention were the Chatterjee. Chatterjee was secretary to Commonwealth Games and additional issue of providing a maternity benefit of Sonia when she was leader of the secretary, economic affairs, during the Rs 6,000 in instalments over six months Opposition and grew close to the 2G scam. The Opposition, they feared, after childbirth to lactating mothers as

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Points of contention between Sonia Gandhi and THE PROXYWAR Manmohan Singh in the recent past SACKING OF CAG REPORT ON CABINET ROLE OF NAC, FOOD SECURITY ASHWANI AGUSTAWESTLAND RESHUFFLE, June 2012 BILL, July 2011 KUMAR, May DEAL, April 29 The PM October 28, 2012 Manmohan removed Manmohan 10 Manmohan was keen on getting it Sonia wanted Harsh Mander and amended certain wanted his man tabled in the current C.P.Joshi as rail- M.S. Swaminathan, provisions in the to stay on as law session as it could way minister but who support the original draft citing minister despite possibly spell trouble Manmohan Food Security Bill, a huge financial allegations of for Sonia loyalist picked Pawan and inducted outgo. Sonia got impropriety but A.K. Antony. Parliament Kumar Bansal Planning Commi- them reinserted in Sonia had her way. was adjourned. for the job. ssion’s Mihir Shah. the final draft.

prime minister. At the very least, is impossible that he acted without the Manmohan could also be seen in pub- Manmohan would have had some of orders of superior officers. Ultimately, lic as an admission of corruption and the political heat over scandals the Prime Minister himself is responsi- wrongdoing on the Congress’s part. deflected away from him. But Congress ble for the acts of PMO officials. There Sonia has been confiding to some party managers pre-empted the Prime are also rumours about an exposé on leaders about the deepening suspicion Minister by cutting the Parliament the son of a close Manmohan aide. and seeking their advice on what to do. session short on May 8. With the Of course, if the taint on Manmohan Yet the public posture is that the party Opposition in a belligerent mood, they gets darker, most Congress leaders will is solidly behind the Prime Minister, did not want to open another front. side with Sonia. “Party workers respect which explains the Youth Congress Manmohan Singh as a prime minister demonstration in Delhi on May 15. CASUALTYOFCOLD WAR but the leader is Sonia Gandhi,” says The next phase of the Congress Governance stalls, politicking takes over Rashid Alvi. Congress sources deny leadership drama will unfold in early Talk of the Prime Minister’s potential that any discussion has taken place on July. In the interim, Manmohan needs departure was, however, scotched on replacing Manmohan. “There has not Sibal, his chosen replacement for May 15 when he travelled to Guwahati been any such discussion to date,” says Kumar in the law ministry, to do the to file his nomination for a fresh Rajya a senior Congress leader, adding, “but groundwork to prevent any adverse Sabha term from Assam. His latest even if there is, it must be between Mrs reference from the court. He will also membership will keep him in Gandhi, Rahulji and Ahmed Patel. lean on Parliamentary Affairs Minister Parliament until May 2019, which There is no dearth of leaders in the Kamal Nath to contain BJP’s persistent keeps him in the running for the top job party.” Manmohan can draw solace demand for his resignation. What’s should there be a UPA 3. But the Prime and strength from the reality that clear is that damage control will be the Minister has several things to worry Rahul has repeatedly expressed full-time preoccupation of party man- about between now and the next elec- disinclination for the prime minister’s agers. Governance will take a back seat. tions. The Supreme Court will once job. But the fact remains that in the Unfortunately, the Congress can no again hear the Coalgate case on July dual power structure, Sonia remains a longer blame coalition partners for 10, after its summer recess. It could po- leader without accountability and paralysis in Government. With the de- tentially make observations against Manmohan is a prime minister with parture of TMC and DMK, UPA 2 is largely Shatrughna Singh, joint secretary in only responsibility, says a senior ally. a Congress enterprise with some sup- PMO, who CBI named as having vetted Sonia may not want to create a port from Sharad Pawar. There are no and modified its report. A low-profile second Manmohan Singh on the eve of excuses left. UPA has governed disas- officer with excellent credentials, he is a General Election which should be trously in its second incarnation. That supposed to be close to Manmohan. It Rahul’s coming-out event. Sacking will not change if the technocratic Prime Minister and the political party president work at cross purposes. The Sonia may not want to create a second Congress will only have itself to blame Manmohan Singh on the eve of a General if it suffers badly in Elections 2014. Election. Sacking Manmohan could also be seen in public as an admission of corruption on the When you tweet about this article, Congress’s part, which is unlikely to win it votes. use #SoniaVSManmohan

24 INDIA TODAY ◆ May 27, 2013 NEW