NEW DELHI: A Significant move to forge new political links involving three Congress Working Committee (CWC) members in party besides over a dozen prominent non-BJP opposition leaders got under way at a dinner.
The fact that the Congress general secretary Ahmed Patel and political secretary to the Congress president Jitendra Prasad sat face-to-face with the Janata Dal Vice-president Ram Vilas Paswan and several other prominent leaders of this party invested “the dinner at the residence of the CWE member Rajesh Pilot with much political importance.
That such a get-together with leaders of opposition parties including the CPI CPM Congress (S) Telugu Desam and National Conference could have been arranged without the knowledge of the Congress president seems most unlikely. However inquiries made from the AICC and other sources about the real purpose of the move elicited no response
One obvious motive for the exercise could be to enlist the support of the opposition leaders for the Congress candidate in the ensuing Presidential elections But well informed sources in the ruling Party indicated that the “dinner talks” could have wider ramifications.” Some of the important ruling party leaders have been plainly dazed by the scale and magnitude of the biggest scam so far in the country’s history.
As the full story of horrendous dealings behind the scandal comes to light it will certainly leave the ruling party with-a much bruised image. Already opposition leaders have started talking about the involvement of certain minister’s in the scam. Even if only a shadow of the allegations now is made is true it is bound to rock the Congress. Anticipating trouble the party president might have given the green signal to the CWC members to start some kind of a dialogue with the opposition to pave the way for a possible understanding.
The President R. Venkataraman issued a notification setting in motion the process to elect the country’s ninth President on July 13. With the publication of the notification in the gazette filing of nomination opened and will continue till June 24.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 19, 1992
