Subodh Ghildiyal, TNN | Oct 9, 2013, 06.16 AM IST
As the UIDAI bill was cleared without any discussion, it was the PM's tongue-in-cheek remark that evoked some mirth and also puzzlement.
NEW DELHI: The lingering embarrassment over the way it had to junk the ordinance on convicted lawmakers found an expression in the meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday.
"It is a bill, not an ordinance," PM Manmohan Singh said. Although made in half-jest, the remark from the PM, not known for betraying emotions, struck the members of the Cabinet who had assembled to clear the bill to give the Unique Identification Authority of India legal standing.
As the UIDAI bill was cleared without any discussion, it was the PM's tongue-in-cheek remark that evoked some mirth and also puzzlement. It remained the topic of discussion after the meeting had ended.
The import of the PM's light remark was unlikely to be lost on anyone, given the storm that the ordinance to save convicted MPs has triggered. While the ordinance was cleared by the Cabinet without any serious opposition, Rahul Gandhi later came out against it, calling it "complete nonsense" that was better torn up and thrown out, a veto that triggered a rush in the government to rescind the decision.
Why the PM's light remark did not evoke wild laughter could be because Rahul's public veto of the ordinance led to serious embarrassment for the Cabinet ministers who had cleared the decision. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had cautioned that not thinking through the decisions followed by volte face compromised the credibility of the government.
That a young leader chose to challenge the collective wisdom of the Union ministers was an issue of discussion for over a week though Congressmen were also thankful to the heir imminent for giving the party a safe exit on the ordinance that was threatening to turn into a political trap.
Civil society, principal opposition BJP, the Left bloc as well as the Aam Aadmi Party came out against the decision to overturn the Supreme Court order that MPs and MLAs would stand disqualified the moment they were convicted by a court of law. It struck down the breather to appeal the sentence and keep the membership.
The ordinance was seen to clash with public perception which saw the ordinance as a government attempt to save corrupt and criminal elements in legislatures, a view that could pile pressure on Congress once the opposition dissociated itself from the decision.
