India’s Gandhi quits parliament

By Palash Kumar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The chief of India’s ruling Congress
party, Sonia Gandhi, quit on Thursday as member of parliament
and a key advisory body, after charges she had violated the
constitution by holding both posts.

But the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was
under no danger, analysts said, adding that the Italian-born
Gandhi would likely return to parliament in six months after a
fresh election.

They said Gandhi had tried to pre-empt a campaign by the
opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over
the controversy and claim the moral high ground. The move was
also not expected to hurt her hold over the party, they added.

“I have decided to resign from the Lok Sabha (lower house
of parliament) and the national advisory council,” Gandhi told
a news conference, adding that she would contest elections
again for her parliamentary seat.

“For the last two days, some people in the country were
trying to create an impression that parliament was being
misused for my benefit,” Gandhi said.

“This has hurt me. I have said before that in my political
and personal life, I have not wanted any private benefit,” she
said before handing her resignation to the speaker of the lower
house of parliament.

A spokesman in the speaker’s office said Gandhi’s
resignation had been accepted.

India’s constitution bars members of parliament from
holding what it calls an office of profit — any government
post that entitles them to pay and perks. But in practice many
lawmakers also serve on official bodies outside parliament.

The controversy erupted after another member of parliament
was disqualified this month for serving as head of a state
cinema development board.

Since then, several petitions have been filed against other
members of parliament, including Gandhi, whose party came to
power at the head of a communist-backed coalition in May 2004.

About 40 other lawmakers, both in the ruling coalition and
the opposition, are believed to hold such positions.

The National Advisory Council was established to advise the
coalition government on policy and give Gandhi a supervisory
role after she declined the post of prime minister.

“DAMAGE LIMITATION”

The government abruptly adjourned parliament on Wednesday
and was reportedly considering issuing an emergency ordinance
to change the law over the “office of profit” provision.

But this evoked a storm of protest from the opposition,
which accused the government of subverting parliament.

Gandhi said her decision to quit was in line with her
“standards of public morality and personal values.”

“I have complete faith that my Rae Bareli brothers and
sisters and the whole country will understand my wishes,” she
said referring to her constituency in the northern Indian state
of Uttar Pradesh.

The news brought dozens of Congress activists to her house
in the heart of New Delhi, shouting slogans in her support and
asking her not to quit, in a replay of scenes in May 2004 when
she declined the post of prime minister.

A senior minister said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had
tried to dissuade her from quitting. “The PM is shocked and
stunned,” he told Reuters.

The BJP called the resignation a drama to save face.

“This grand-standing will not help. This is the confession
of a culprit caught red-handed trying to subvert the
constitution and democracy,” BJP leader Arun Jaitley told
reporters.

But analysts said Gandhi might have succeeded in limiting
the damage to her party’s government.

“This is a damage-limitation move and a snap victory from
the jaws of defeat,” political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said.

“The government had been driven to a wall and was heading
for a political whirlpool without an exit. She has found an
exit.”

(Additional reporting by Kamil Zaheer)