The Super PM that Sonia was!
The recent decision of NDA government to make public 710 files related to Sonia Gandhi headed National Advisory Committee (NAC) that dominated the governance during UPA government, exposed the most dubious extra-constitutional authority wielded by Mrs. Sonia over the legitimately elected government of India headed by Prime Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh.
What these files reveal shockingly how the said NAC was wielding power far beyond its charter to provide ‘piece of advices' on policy and functioning of the then union government and how it was influencing policy making in disinvestment, coal, power and real estate apart from social sectors. The files made public show how suggestions were given, officers were summoned and compliance reports were being sought by the NAC even as Dr Singh surrendered his constitutional authority to Sonia Gandhi. File notings clearly reveal that when it came to recommendations from Mrs Gandhi, her decisions were final.
The unmasking of the goings-on during the Congress regime are bound to be a huge embarrassment to the party. There are several examples in the file notings of the extraordinary authority that Sonia Gandhi wielded. One such example was a file which was related to the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises which contained a letter dated September 16, 2004, which the Congress president had written to Manmohan Singh on reconstitution of disinvestment commission and setting up of a new board in its place. Wrote Sonia Gandhi: ‘I hope this matter will be considered on priority and a clear decision taken before the constitution of the board for reconstruction of public sector enterprises.' The files show that Manmohan Singh complied with the orders.
In another case, Sonia asked Manmohan to institute an apex mechanism for the manufacturing sector. ‘I thought that the issues outlined above needed to be taken up without delay for further consideration in the government,' read Sonia's letter. Records show that the Prime Minister obliged.
These revelations have given a fillip to what the BJP has been saying for long, that it was Sonia Gandhi who had been running the UPA government by proxy and that she was the super PM during the UPA regime. This is also borne out by some observations made by the Prime Minister's special secretary Sanjaya Baru in his book, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister: The making and unmaking of Manmohan Singh', in which he claims that the latter was a cipher, especially in UPA-2. It goes without saying that a debate would now ensue and more acrimony and bad blood between the Modi government and the Congress can be expected. The government must get to the root of this and take appropriate action. But, in general, the revelations are nothing earth-shattering, as the whole world knows what a sham the UPA-II was.
