File photo of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.
New Delhi:
As questions are raised over whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's position has been undermined after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi caused political tremors with his remarks on the ordinance on lawmakers, party president Sonia Gandhi spoke to Mr Singh yesterday evening over the telephone, reportedly assuring him of the party's full support.
Mr Singh is in Washington DC for his talks with the US President Barack Obama.
Mr Gandhi had denunciated the controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers by calling it "nonsense" at a press meet yesterday, in which he also attacked the government for pursuing the ordinance as a "political compromise."
The ordinance overturns a Supreme Court order that elected representatives convicted and sentenced to over two years in prison will be disqualified immediately; it provides that such MPs and MLAs can continue in office, without salary or voting rights, if a higher court stays the conviction on appeal.
By publicly denouncing the ordinance, Mr Gandhi effectively vetoed a decision that had been cleared by Mr Singh as well as his mother Sonia Gandhi a week ago.
The BJP's Arun Jaitley called Mr Gandhi's attack on his government a "grandstanding", saying the undermined position of Manmohan Singh now will not even be a footnote in history.
Sources say Rahul Gandhi's stunning outburst betrays a "generational shift" within the party, with the younger brigade led by him distancing itself from what was largely considered a political decision.
Mr Singh is in Washington DC for his talks with the US President Barack Obama.
Mr Gandhi had denunciated the controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers by calling it "nonsense" at a press meet yesterday, in which he also attacked the government for pursuing the ordinance as a "political compromise."
The ordinance overturns a Supreme Court order that elected representatives convicted and sentenced to over two years in prison will be disqualified immediately; it provides that such MPs and MLAs can continue in office, without salary or voting rights, if a higher court stays the conviction on appeal.
By publicly denouncing the ordinance, Mr Gandhi effectively vetoed a decision that had been cleared by Mr Singh as well as his mother Sonia Gandhi a week ago.
The BJP's Arun Jaitley called Mr Gandhi's attack on his government a "grandstanding", saying the undermined position of Manmohan Singh now will not even be a footnote in history.
Sources say Rahul Gandhi's stunning outburst betrays a "generational shift" within the party, with the younger brigade led by him distancing itself from what was largely considered a political decision.
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