E-Paper
The NDA has lost its advantage
The NDA-led opposition has inadvertently let the `advantage-gained? in the Natwar-Volcker controversy slip out of their hands and go to the UPA. It was clear from the beginning that whether Natwar Singh remains in the Indian National Congress or not, the political opponents of the UPA do not gain any mileage. Even then, the BJP has said that the suspension of Natwar from the INC is a move `to save the President of the INC?!
The NDA-led opposition has inadvertently let the `advantage-gained’ in the Natwar-Volcker controversy slip out of their hands and go towards the UPA. It was clear from the beginning that whether Natwar Singh remains in the Indian National Congress or not, the political opponents of the UPA do not gain any mileage. Even then, the BJP has said that the suspension of Natwar from the INC is a move `to save the President of the INC’!
They wanted to project that the INC is evading the issue by making Natwar a `scape goat’. But then it is clear more or less that the letterhead of the INC came in handy while writing letters to the Oil Ministry of Saddam Hussain’s Iraq. So the INC still has a chance to come out as a `martyr’ and attract public sympathy!
On the other hand, if the Oil Ministry had indeed allotted a coupon in the name of the `Congress Party’, it is an amusing incident and not a piece of evidence. The century-old party is called Indian National Congress and not by the casual name of `Congress Party’ in the international fora. And a foreign government can never be so casual.
This raises a doubt whether the manipulators managed to get the second coupon in their hands and wanted to show a different beneficiary!
Be that as it may, a similar attack by the NDA led opposition bit the dust when accusing the UPA of an imminent ordinance to `save’ the President of INC in the Office of Profit episode. The advantage then went squarely against them when the President of INC resigned the Lok Sabha seat but got reelected with 2,00,000 more votes.
An encore to `manipulation gone awry’……?
