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CWC divided over Orissa chief minister resignation

George Iype in New Delhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday forced the party's longest serving Chief Minister Janaki Ballab Patnaik of Orissa to resign for his failure to halt the violence against Christians in the state.

Sonia summoned the beleaguered chief minister to Delhi on Monday and asked him to put in his papers immediately for the attacks on Christians and the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

The provocation for Patnaik's ouster is officially said to be the number of communal and criminal incidents in the past month. They included the alleged gang rape of Anjana Mishra, the murder of Australian missionary Graham Stains and his two sons, the alleged rape of a Catholic nun and the murder of two tribal Christians.

Patnaik handed over his resignation to Sonia on Monday night, owning moral responsibility for the law and order situation in the state.

An angry Patnaik flew back to Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday morning without meeting Sonia for further consultations.

Having received Patnaik's resignation, Sonia is said to be in a fix about the next course of action. Party spokesperson Ajit Jogi said Sonia would decide about accepting the resignation in a few days.

Opinion in the Congress is divided on whether Sonia should accept Patnaik's resignation or let him continue as Orissa chief minister.

Party sources said some Congress Working Committee members have indirectly questioned Sonia's decision. They feel Patnaik's resignation is unwarranted, and will amount to meekly accepting the Opposition allegation that the Congress government in Orissa has failed to protect the minorities.

CWC members like Sharad Pawar, Dr Manmohan Singh and Oscar Fernandes have suggested that sacking Patnaik was not right as it would give the Bharatiya Janata Party a handle to hurl accusations against the Congress. It would also expose the Congress "double standards" vis-a-vis the attacks against Christians in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and the caste killings in Bihar.

"If the persecution of Christians is the reason behind Patnaik's removal, then the Congress should demand similar action against the chief ministers of Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh," a Congress official told Rediff On The NeT.

He felt if law and order was the main issue for Sonia, then Chief Minister Digvijay Singh should have been asked to resign after the rape of four nuns in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, last year. The Congress, he added, should also have campaigned for the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel for the violence against Christians in the state and the ouster of Chief Minister Rabri Devi for the caste killings in Bihar.

Congress sources said Patnaik told Sonia and her emissaries that a few criminal incidents in the state could not be the reason for his removal.

Patnaik also informed CWC member Madhavrao Scindia, who is in charge of Orissa, that by sacking him the party leadership is taking an "incorrect decision" as Christians and other minorities have been attacked across the country.

Scindia later told reporters that Patnaik had resigned owning moral responsibility for the attacks against minorities in Orissa. "It is an exemplary action on the chief minister's part. We hope other chief ministers will follow his model," he said.

Scindia said there was no dissidence in the Orissa Congress and no rebel leader had met him in the last few days. "Patnaik's resignation is not the victory of any faction because there are no important rebels in the state," he said.

Sources said what forced Sonia to demand Patnaik's resignation was CWC member Arjun Singh's counsel that the Orissa chief minister has been a failure and that his continuance would breed further dissidence in the party.

Singh along with dissident leaders in the state like Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee president Hemananda Biswal and Deputy Chief Minister Basanta Kumar Biswal have campaigned for Patnaik's ouster for several weeks now.

Both Biswals are in the race to be the next chief minister.

CWC members like Scindia and Pranab Mukherjee also favoured Patnaik's removal. The trio advised Sonia that the prudent course of action was to sack Patnaik. For two reasons. First, it would check growing dissidence, especially when Orissa is scheduled to have an assembly election later this year.

Second, Patnaik's resignation owning moral responsibility for the anti-Christian violence would give the impression that the Congress is concerned about the welfare and protection of minorities in the country.

On his return from New Delhi, Patnaik told reporters at the airport that he had met Sonia last night and submitted his resignation. ''It is for Mrs Gandhi to take a decision on the resignation,'' he added.

A visibly upset Patnaik parried all questions as to whether the Congress Legislature Party would be convened to elect a new leader or the leader would be chosen from outside the CLP.

He hurriedly left for Nabarangpur along with state Congress chief Hemananda Biswal, state Law Minister Raghunath Pattnaik and Mani Shankar Aiyar to attend a conference of elected representatives of the panchayat bodies of nine districts.

Additional reportage: UNI

EARLIER REPORT:
Orissa nun rape: Patnaik on way out

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