Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson and MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Wednesday took a dig at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over her role during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, saying she gave up the Prime Minister’s post in 2004 but went on to become a “Super PM” through her position as Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC).
Addressing a press conference, Trivedi questioned how Gandhi could relinquish the Prime Minister’s office while holding a Cabinet Minister-ranked position in the NAC, alleging that she continued to exercise considerable influence over the government. “She gave up the post of Prime Minister and became a Super PM. He further questioned Gandhi’s appointment as NAC Chairperson, claiming that the position carried the rank of a Cabinet Minister and was held under the Office of Profit provisions.
You will not find such an example anywhere in the world, where someone gives up the post of Prime Minister but takes the rank of a Cabinet Minister,” Trivedi said. “She became the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), with the rank of a Cabinet Minister, and that too under the Office of Profit,” he said. “I believe all these facts are before the people of the country, and everyone knows what the Super PM and Super Cabinet were during that period of governance,” Trivedi added. His remarks come amid the political debate surrounding Gandhi’s memoir, ” Belonging: A Journey of Love “, released on Tuesday, in which she has recounted the circumstances that led her to decline the Prime Minister’s post after the Congress-led alliance secured victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi subsequently announced in Parliament that she would follow her “inner voice” and nominated Dr Manmohan Singh as the Congress Parliamentary Party leader, paving the way for him to become Prime Minister.
