A combative Congress remained determined to pin the BJP-led NDA government down even as the latter continued its attack against its political opponent on several fronts.
Ahead of the crucial floor test in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday morning, top Congress leaders late on Monday evening met here to plan the party’s next move on the question of what they believe was an “unconstitutional toppling” of its government in the hill State.
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They also discussed possible options on how to deal with the veiled accusations Prime Minister Narendra Modi made against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the AgustaWestland case during an election rally in Kerala.
Even as senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni have already left for Nainital to act as the party’s observers and managers for the crucial test, the conversation in New Delhi centred on what steps to take after the voting.
A senior leader present during the meeting told The Hindu that if the Congress wins the vote, it will explore the possibility of taking legal action against the Centre as, in the party’s view, it would be proof that President’s rule had been imposed unconstitutionally. “With both the Supreme Court and the Uttarakhand High Court debarring the nine rebel MLAs, in effect, they have upheld the Speaker’s view that the State Budget was passed [and] that the Congress was in a majority, as we have been maintaining all along,” he said.
Motion against PMIt is learnt that the Congress is also considering moving an appropriate motion against the Prime Minister over his charge that the Italian court had indicted Ms. Gandhi in the AgustaWestland case.
A senior Congress Lok Sabha leader pointed out that this could not be dismissed merely as something said in the hurly-burly of electioneering.“It sends out a message to the Central Bureau of Investigation that is probing the case”, he said.
A source who was present at the meeting said a call would be taken on Tuesday morning on how to proceed, and the party may not move a motion against the Prime Minister. However, it may move one against Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the ground that there was a gap between what he said in Parliament and what the Prime Minister said during the election campaign.
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