Congress President Sonia Gandhi looked and sounded pleased as punch at having outmanoeuvred her rivals and enacted a coup of sorts by bringing in the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and that too a Dalit.
"I think she is a good choice and she would do a good job," said the Congress President on the choice of Meira Kumar as the next Speaker while speaking to rediff.com in Parliament house.
When asked whether Meira was a last-minute thought or a well thought out strategy she grinned mischievously and said, "I am not going to tell you that, but I think that she is a good choice."
When it was point out to her that Meira had a soft, squeaky voice which may not carry, Sonia obviously did not agree and said, "I think you will find that she will manage fine and that there is no problem with her voice. She will be able to make herself heard."
The UPA chairperson will propose Meira's name as the Speaker while Pranab Mukherjee as the leader of the Lok Sabha will second it. The nomination papers will be filed by noon on Tuesday and how many sets will be filed is still being worked out. In 2004, 18 sets of papers were filed for Somnath Chatterjee.
It is a decision which the Congress President obviously thinks is the right one at the right time. The party played the issue of Meira close to its chest with even a significant ally like Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar having been sounded on her candidature as late as May 28, while the core committee made the final decision on May 29.
The fact that Meira was sworn in as a minister, was allocated the Water Resources portfolio and had had a number of meetings on the issue with important delegations, has led people to believe that she was a late entrant into the race, but so far there is no firm word on this. This has left Bihar with no representation in the council of ministers, an anomaly which will need to be rectified, say senior party leaders.
The Congress president who was sworn in as an MP on Monday morning, looked relaxed, confident and in a chatty mood while speaking to a couple of journalists. She said that her focus would now shift to the party and the changes which needed to be made. She said that so far they were busy with government formation, but that task is almost over.
A number of party functionaries have been drafted as ministers and if she decides that one man one post should be the norm, a number of changes would be on the cards. But the Congress does not believe in any set formulas or guidelines and each decision is taken according to expediency or whatever suits the leadership or whatever the situation demands.
For example, the decision to bring in Shashi Tharoor as a minister violates all the guidelines of the party since he has never been an MP, an MLA or a minister, either in the state or the centre or even a party functionary. But he was brought in because the leadership wanted him.
Sonia now appears to have emerged as a hands-on leader who understands which of her MPs' is unhappy at not having been given a position and who needs to be patted on the back for a job well done. While exiting from Parliament, she consoled a middle level MP who had not become a minister saying she would meet him soon and talk to him. He had not uttered a word except to say namaste.
