Jog back your memories to May 2004.
Congress gets letters of support from various other parties (forming UPA) and stakes claim to form the new Government.
Sonia Gandhi gets elected as the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, which automatically meant she will be the next Prime Minister of India. It is impossible that Sonia Gandhi was unawares that she will be next Prime Minister at this stage. Neither did she tell her party members not to elect her as their Parliamentary party leader.
Opposition parties in the NDA, especially BJP and its leaders oppose Sonia Gandhi’s election to the Prime Minister’s office. Sushma Swaraj, BJP leader goes to the extent of saying she will wear the attire of a widow if Sonia Gandhi swears in as the Prime Minister of India.
Sonia Gandhi drives to the Presidential palace to meet Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam to stake claim to be the next Prime Minister of India and form the Congress Government.
Something happens at the Presidential palace. Some pertinent questions are asked by Dr. Kalam.
Sonia Gandhi drives back to 10 Janpath. And immediately the sacrifice story is on air on all television channels. What transpired at the Presidential palace remained a secret for many and strangely the media didn’t even speculate on what happened but were content beaming scenes of mad crowds at 10 Janpath and airing passionate speeches of Congress sycophants pleading to Sonia Gandhi to reverse her decision.
Within a space of one hour, an aspiring Prime Ministerial candidate was turned into a martyr of sorts.
What really transpired at the Presidential palace?
Below is a small excerpt from a detailed story published at http://namar.wordpress.com in the words of the Janata Party President Dr. Subramanyan Swamy.
“Patriotic Indians should thank the then President of India, Bharat Ratna Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam for having the courage by citing a legal hitch to dissuade Ms. Sonia Gandhi from staking her claim to form the Government in May 2004. She therefore did not as expected (which she later twisted to her favour by citing it as a sacrifice, when she actually had no choice!) on May 17th become the Prime Minister of 1 billion plus people of India. It can now be said that the nation has been saved from a monumental, devastating, and permanent injury to India’s national interest and patriotic psyche of Indians. And therefore every effort that can be made in a democracy should be made to ensure that Ms. Sonia Gandhi is permanently out of reckoning for any public office. For those who instinctively understand that, this Note is to explain the factual basis for this conclusion, and suggest what patriotic Indians can do now.
My opposition to Ms. Sonia Gandhi is not merely because she is Italian-born. In other democratic countries, including in Italy, such an issue [of foreign-born aspiring to be head of government] would not even arise at all because the issue has already been settled by law, that a person cannot hold the highest public office unless he or she is native born. In India there is no such law, but the President according to my knowledge, correctly acted on a proviso to Section 5 of the Indian Citizenship Act[1955] which empowers the Union Home Ministry to lay down conditions that apply to Indian citizenship acquired by foreigners by registration, which conditions would be based on the principle of reciprocity, viz., in Ms Gandhi’s case such of those conditions that apply to Indians on becoming citizens of Italy would apply to her. The President reportedly told her that if she insisted on being invited to form the government, he would want first to clarify, on a reference to the Supreme Court, whether in view of this proviso her appointment as PM could be successfully challenged in the court.
It is fair to assume that this report of the President’s decision, is correct since the President had before him my petition dated May 15, 2004 making just that point- that Ms. Gandhi’s citizenship is conditional, and in particular she cannot be the PM legally. The President had also given me an appointment at 12.45 PM on May 17, 2004 to explain my submissions in person, which I did. I also told him that I would challenge such a constitutional appointment in the Supreme Court just as I had in 2001 when the Tamil Nadu Governor illegally swore in Ms Jayalalitha as Chief Minister. In that case, the Supreme Court had after hearing me and many other institutional luminaries, upheld my contention that mere majority in the House is insufficient for being sworn in to a constitutional office. There must be no disqualification as well. Ms. Jayalalitha had therefore to step down because she was disqualified by a conviction handed by a trial court in the TANSI corruption case filed by me as private complaint [she subsequently was acquitted by the Madras High Court, and hence became eligible the next year]. I also cited to the President a 1962 Allahabad High Court case, which held that this proviso in the Citizenship Act was binding and lawful.
The complete article can be accessed here
Apr 21, 2009 at 08:54:15
Well during their office from 2004 to 2009, congress gave india a reign of unemployment, inflation, and terrorism. During BJP’s reign, the rate of above three was just 10% in a year, whereas during 2004 to 2009, it is 35.98% a year which means that if congress continued to rule, India will become a poor country in 10yrs. BJP did a lot for IT industry and other sectors, congress never did anything for it. There are a lot of facts that Indian national congress today is not the congress of gandhi and nehru, but it is actually infiltrated.
Apr 21, 2009 at 09:30:16
Max,
Can’t agree with you more but not sure about the statistics given by you.
Apr 27, 2009 at 16:31:54
Had Dr A P Abdul Kalam be the President of our country with all the power and authority,not a rubber stamp,we could do something to straighten the corrupt politicians.But this is India and we Indians could not do anything when Dr.Kalam sought Presidency second time.We became victim of dirty politics in India and stooge has been in the chair of President,who will have no say on the wrong doings of UPA Govt.This has been going on since 1947 onwards.Indians get up, stand up.