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'Birthday girl' Sonia Gandhi anguished

Tuesday, 09 December 2003, 00:00 Hrs

NEW DELHI: Cogitating about poll defeats even on her 58th birthday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday said she was anguished with the conduct of disgraced former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi.

Addressing a meeting of her parliamentary party here, Gandhi displayed unconcealed anger against Jogi, who allegedly wrote a letter of support backing breakaway Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators if they formed a government.

"On recent developments in Chhattisgarh involving Jogi, I express my anguish," she said.

"In the face of a clear verdict of the people and the fact that he had ceased to be the leader of the Congress legislature party, he should never have written a letter to the governor expressing support for the splinter group of BJP legislators.

"This simply cannot be condoned."

Jogi, who lost power in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections last week, was suspended from the party Saturday after he allegedly bribed BJP legislators to break away and wrote the letter of support to the governor without seeking the party president's sanction.

New chief minister Raman Singh has called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against him.

Gandhi said she favoured a "thorough and impartial investigation" into the BJP's charges that Jogi had been recorded on audiotape trying to bribe BJP legislators.

Amid the disheartening election defeats and the Jogi scandal, the party made much of Gandhi's birthday.

If Gandhi, who turned 57, favoured low-key celebrations after the sobering routs in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh last week, her party functionaries would have none of it.

Party leaders turned up to wish her at her 10, Janpath residence where a huge crowd had gathered with flowers, bouquets, sweets and posters of Gandhi.

Two days after an election post-mortem where top leaders kept their chin up while staring at a bleak future, Congress workers seemed to be in a happy state of denial as they attempted to drum up festivities.

Leaders dismissed queries about post-defeat mourning and the contrasting revelry.

"These are both separate things," said All India Congress Committee general secretary Ambika Soni.

"Today (Tuesday) is our president's birthday and we are wishing her on the occasion," said Soni. "I see no reason to club the two."

Party functionaries took the occasion to go through the motions of reaffirming their faith in Gandhi's leadership, evidently seen to be necessary after she owned part responsibility for the election debacle.

But hope lived on as slogans of "Long Live Sonia Gandhi!" rang out and workers danced to drum beats.

Source: IANS

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