It looks like the Congress is losing its sheen. It has already lost it in Karnataka, and now it’s losing it across the country with the 2G spectrum scam. Allocating frequencies at much lower price than the market value, former telecom minister A Raja is already in the soup. Rumour is rife that the leak which led to this disclosure happened from deep within the Congress. Fingers are pointing towards one key person: Union home minister P Chidambaram.
Pray why? Because the Congress wanted to bring the Karunanidhi juggernaut to a complete halt. But why, you ask? Because it wants to win over Tamil Nadu on its own strength and bring more stability at the centre. Has it succeeded? Not quite. The entire winter session of the parliament was taken to ransom by the opposition hell-bent on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the matter. Prime minister Manmohan Singh has relented partially by showing his willingness to undergo an inquiry by the Parliamentary Affairs Committee. But even that isn’t working at the moment.
The story has only begun as many more skeletons will topple out of the closet. Or will Congress find a dark horse that will take the nation’s eye off the issue for good? In politics, everything is so unpredictable. What is most saddening is that you and I have to be content being mute spectators.