Sonia's strategic blunder on Durga

Anita Saluja

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi unwittingly finds herself pushed on the backfoot, after openly supporting controversial Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal in her letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi’s move is politically incorrect as Durga Shakti Nagpal is involved in ordering demolition of the wall of a mosque and that too in the holy month of Ramzan. Sonia Gandhi’s move could seriously mar the party’s poll prospects, as it hurts the sentiments of the minorities.

Samajwadi Party leader in Rajya Sabha Ramgopal Yadav, who also happens to be Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle, dared the Government on Monday, saying, “If the Centre wants to intervene, let it remove all IAS officers from the State. We will run the State with our own officers.” According to PMO sources, Sonia Gandhi often sends missives to the Prime Minister that are normally not revealed, unless it senses some advantage in making it public. The other communications are invariably kept confidential. In the case of Sonia Gandhi’s letter on Durga Shakti Nagpal, it was leaked to the media, which the party never wanted.

The latter got leaked through the Government sources and the party is trying to find out, who has done it. The Congress prefers only such letters being leaked, which espouse the cause of the aam admi or the common man, like asking the Prime Minister to review the petrol price hike.

Embarrassed by the political fallout, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped into damage-control mode. When accosted by mediapersons in Parliament House, the Prime Minister merely said, “Well, there are rules laid down and the rules will be followed and we are in touch with the State Government to find out the full details of the case.”

Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) V Narayanasami, who also handles the Ministry of Personnel, which is the nodal Ministry for dealing with all-India Services officers, insisted the Centre cannot step in, unless and until the concerned officer appeals to it. So far, Durga Shakti Nagpal has not appealed to the Centre. Explaining the procedure, Narayanasami said when an IAS officer appeals, then the appeal is referred to the State Government for comments. After receiving the State Government’s comments, it is decided on merits. The effort throughout the day has been on distancing the Government from the case relating to Durga Shakti Nagpal.

During the past two decades, the Congress has been struggling to come out of the shadow of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992, during the tenure of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, which alienated Muslims from the Congress. Just at a time when the Congress had staged a dramatic turnaround in the last Lok Sabha polls in 2009 in Uttar Pradesh when over 20 Congress MPs were elected, indicating that the Muslims were returning to the Congress-fold, the latest move of Sonia Gandhi could cause a setback to the party, in the run up to General Election in 2014. In her letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi said, “We must ensure that the officer is not unfairly treated.

At the same time, this particular instance has highlighted the need to assess whether there are adequate safeguards in place to protect executive functionaries working beyond the average call of duty to uphold the law. The implementation machinery must feel that the conditions are conducive to the delivery of public services without fear or favour. I know that some good beginnings have been made towards administrative reforms, but the issues that have come to be profiled in Ms Nagpal’s case also need focus.”