Not even for a day more can she stand his face !! Sonia Gandhi does not want Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to preside over the Rajya Sabha as its Chairman for a single day after the Presidential election. Which is precisely why the Government is reluctant to announce the dates of the monsoon session of Parliament.......... As so in all likelihood, the Parliament session will start only after Shekhawat completes his term on August 18 ; or earlier if he chooses to resign after losing the Presidential poll.
It appears Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had directed Parliamentary Affairs, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi to finalise the dates for the commencement of the Monsoon session after new President (Pratibha Patil as per their projections) takes oath on July 25 to start the monsoon session with the Presidential address to the joint sitting of the two Houses.
Knowing which side of his bread is buttered, Dasmunsi chose to act on instructions from 10 Janpath, not to convene the Parliament session until August 18 when Shekhawat's term
expires as the Vice-President of India and ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Immune to snubs, the genial and amiable Dr Manmohan Singh suggested as a via media that the session can begin at least from August 1, but quickly withdrew when he knew that he was encroaching on Madam's sacred preserve.
The Monsoon session of Parliament normally starts in the third or fourth week of July. Dasmunsi has a host of reasons for putting it off. But the crunch lies elsewhere !! He is waiting for the results of the Presidential election on Saturday and watch Shekhawat's next move over the next three, four days. His calculation is that Shekhawat will be so humiliated by the
crushing defeat that he may resign instead of pulling on till the end of his term.
Sonia Gandhi's main aim is that Shekhawat should be prevented from disposing off the petition filed by the party for disqualifying former foreign minister K Natwar Singh as
she suspects Shekhawat will give the ruling in his favour.
But, alas, Shekhawat does not require the House to be in session to take the decision !! Even so, the Congress can delay the hearing on the petition by seeking time to respond and let tthe matter go to the hands of the next Chairman.
Some gameplaying this is !!
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