Congressmen fear Pranab-Chidambaram clash tarnishing party image

Congress party members are looking with dismay at the shenanigans of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and home minister P Chidambaram. There is a feeling that the two senior ministers are blinded by their ego and they are not concerned with the image of the government and of the party.

The party feels helpless because the fight is happening in the government, where the party does not have a say.

Though Mukherjee and Chidambaram met party president Sonia Gandhi — what transpired remains a secret — on Monday party sources said it is for prime minister Manmohan Singh to take control of the situation and tell the two ministers firmly that they have to end the feud. Sources maintain that Gandhi has refrained from interfering in the management of the government, and that she has given a free rein — 99 per cent — to Singh to take care of it. The burden of settling the issue is being squarely laid at the door of the prime minister.

The argument is that since Gandhi backs the prime minister to the hilt, he cannot shy away from acting firmly and discipline his colleagues if need be and take tough decisions to run the government in a way that it will instill confidence in the people.

Partymen feel that Singh and his colleagues are not taking the party into confidence, and the party is not being briefed as to what the government is doing. One of them says that when he goes to the BJP-ruled states and talks about the many schemes that the Congress-led UPA government had launched, party workers stare blankly because they are not aware of them. An office-bearer said the government ministers kept the party in dark for over a month on what had happened in the case of yoga guru Ramdev. It was when Gandhi called for a meeting that information was passed on. There is no reciprocity between party and government, he said.

There is also the distinct perception that the 2G spectrum scam and other problems belong to the government sphere and that there is not much the party can do on its own. Members of Singh's cabinet will have to deal with tact and also brief the party about it, is the demand from the party. There is resentment in the party that once individuals move into government, they tend to ingore and look down upon the part.

Singh’s taciturnity, which was once seen as a virtue, is now being counted in party circles as a liability. While admitting that he is a good listener, party sources complain that Singh does not communicate with his colleagues and with the party and that this is a problem. There is a surprising demand from the party that Singh now should take his responsibility of the head of government more seriously, and set the house — that is, the government — in order.