Rahul calls ordinance on convicted lawmakers 'nonsense'
Source: The Sangai Express / Hindustantimes.com
New Delhi, September 27 2013 :
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi dropped a bombshell on Friday by saying that the ordinance passed by his cabinet to shield convicted lawmakers from disqualification "is a complete nonsense" and that "it should be torn up and thrown away" .
His statement comes after reports of a growing unease in the Congress over the ordinance started doing the rounds.
Union minister Milind Deora and Congress leader Anil Shastri have already gone public with their reservations on the ordinance.
Even senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh has called for a consensus.
Gandhi made his statement after making a surprise brief appearance at a meet-the-press programme of his party's general secretary Ajay Maken at the Press Club in the national capital.
"Now, I will tell you what is my opinion on the ordinance.
It is complete nonsense, it should be torn up and thrown away.
It is my personal opinion," he said.
Rahul said that the argument given in "my organisation" is that "we need to do this because of political considerations.
Everybody is doing this.
The Congress does this, the BJP does this, the Samajwadi Party, the JD(U) does this" .
"It is time to stop this nonsense, political parties, mine and all others....If you want to fight corruption in the country whether it is Congress Party or BJP, we cannot continue making these small compromises.
Because if we make these small compromises, then we compromise everywhere" .