Stop sermonising: Sonia

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI APRIL 27. A normally reticent Ms. Sonia Gandhi today blasted the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, for ``unfairly attacking the Congress and trying to sermonise to it''. In a rare display of emotion, the Leader of the Opposition launched an onslaught after the Lok Sabha adjourned sine die and the members were leaving the House.

An agitated Ms. Gandhi complained bitterly to the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, who had walked across the aisle to greet the Opposition members after the Speaker had adjourned the House. The Congress president's outburst appeared to have been precipitated by Mr. Vajpayee's attempt at ``sermonising'' to the Opposition and the veiled threat issued by him, particularly after she had gone out of her way to sound conciliatory in her speech.

Riled by Mr. Vajpayee's remarks that ``several issues have come up and are coming up on which even the Opposition will be answerable on the issue of morality,'' Ms. Gandhi said she was not ``scared''. She said sermonising and injecting bitterness had become a habit with the Prime Minister.

Recalling how the Prime Minister had accused the Opposition during his concluding remarks at the end of the winter session as well, Ms. Gandhi said, ``The last time too he tried to accuse and admonish us; every time he tries to throw it back to us... we will not tolerate it any more.'' She pointed out that out of decency she had refrained from interrupting him ``but the next time he does it I will get up and interrupt him''.

When a nonplussed Mr. Advani tried to pacify Ms. Gandhi, she pointed to the Prime Minister's chair, and said, ``I am sorry that I have to say this to you but even you have seen what has been happening and I will not accept this anymore.''

Referring to the Prime Minister's remarks that in his 40-year stint as parliamentarian he had never said all this, she said, ``This is not true. My husband was abused and crucified he didn't lift a finger, my mother-in-law was rubbished when all of you were in the Opposition; is that not true?''

Reacting to Mr. Vajpayee's remark that he had never called people names in his political life, Ms. Gandhi said, ``Hurling abuses began with them; even now, me and my children are being called thieves. I am not scared but I will not put up with this anymore,'' she told Mr. Advani. Bolstered by their leader's aggression, Congress MPs too vehemently protested to Mr. Advani.

While the Home Minister sought to pacify Ms. Gandhi, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, who had also walked over to the Opposition benches, quietly moved away from the scene.

Continuing her tirade outside Parliament, Ms. Gandhi described as ``rubbish'' what the Prime Minister had said on the JPC. ``In the past, a JPC and (judicial) inquiry have gone on simultaneously.''

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