New Delhi, Aug 29: In a fallout of the poor handling the Anna Hazare agitation, one of the younger Congress MPs has said this may have been done deliberately to damage “visionary” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or to prevent Rahul Gandhi from taking the country's top post.
In a letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Praveen Singh Aron said the issue was dealt with “inappropriately” and sought a “thorough inquiry” within the party to ascertain whether it was done deliberately or was a mistake.
Aron has said that in the absence of Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, “the persons responsible to decide matters could not see the widespread public support and socio-political aspects” of Hazare's movement”.
He said the mishandling could have been a “deliberate attempt” to prevent Rahul Gandhi from becoming the Prime Minister or “damage our visionary and unquestionably honest Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh)”.
The issue was handled with a “technico-legal approach and not political far-sightedness”, the Lok Sabha member from Bareilly said in his letter, apparently hinting at Home Minister P Chidambaram and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal.
When contacted, Aron told PTI that whatever he has to say, he would do it in party forum but “obviously, there seems to be an attempt to prevent Rahul Gandhi from becoming the Prime Minister.”
In the letter written at the height of the crisis triggered by Hazare's decision to go on hunger strike and his arrest, he wrote “in my personal view, the entire issue has been handled inappropriately to the extent that a matter, which had obvious political overtones and implications, was dealt with in a purely technical manner.”
“The manner in which Shri Anna Hazare's movement and related events have been handled, it certainly needs a re-look and also calls for a thorough inquiry within the party as well as in the ministries concerned,” Aron said.
Mentioning Sibal, he wrote that the Minister had said that Hazare's campaign “was not as innocent and had ulterior motives as team Anna was trying to project, still the issue was handled with a technico-legal approach and not political far-sightedness”.
Aron, who wrote to Rahul Gandhi who is one of the members of the Congress Committee looking after party affairs in the absence of Sonia Gandhi, was apparently referring to the decision to arrest Hazare and put him in Tihar Jail.
The MP, who had earlier written two letters to Sonia Gandhi over the issue, said that “in the present circumstances, though unfortunately and unfairly some opportunistic forces are trying to take advantage” of the absence of the party President and Rahul, which was due to her illness.
“I am sure, by now you would be aware of the latest situation in this matter and hope you will discuss this matter with other senior leaders of the party...,” he wrote. PTI
