Sonia can seek report, not files, clarifies Congress

Even as Law Minister H R Bhardwaj came under attack from his predecessor for telling The Indian Express that Sonia Gandhi would have access ...

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Even as Law Minister H R Bhardwaj came under attack from his predecessor for telling The Indian Express that Sonia Gandhi would have access to official files in her capacity as UPA chairperson, the Congress rushed in for damage control.

The party now says that Sonia Gandhi can seek a “report” on any subject from the Union Council of Ministers but not “files”.

The clarification came after former law minister Arun Jaitley lashed out at Bhardwaj earlier in the day. He said showing files to Sonia would violate the Official Secrets Act. “She hasn’t taken the oath of secrecy and cannot be privy to such information,” he said.

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Jaitley also pointed out that under the transaction of business rules, even Cabinet ministers could not see each other’s files. “Only the PM can see files from any minister and in case certain issues have financial implications, then the file can be referred to the Finance Ministry,” he told The Indian Express. Jaitley, along with Sanjay Nirupam of the Shiv Sena, has sought permission to raise the issue in Parliament.

The Congress tried to suggest that Bhardwaj had been misquoted. Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said that Bhardwaj had only mentioned that Sonia Gandhi could seek a report on any subject and had never said that actual files would be passed on to her. “There is nothing irregular about this,” he said.

In fact, in his interview, Bhardwaj had specifically stated: “If the Left parties or any of the allies are dissatisfied over implementation of the the Common Minimum Programme, she (Sonia) can ask for files relating to that particular Ministry.”

When asked how that was possible, Bhardwaj had countered: “If the Left parties are dissatisfied with the work done in the rural sector, she obviously would ask for the files from the Rural Development Minister.” He had pointed out that Sonia Gandhi had every right to ask for the files in her capacity as the UPA chairperson.

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While giving a different interpretation to Bhardwaj’s remarks, Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said that the PMO and the Cabinet Secretary alone would oversee the functioning of the Cabinet.

In fact, he pointed out that it was during the tenure of the NDA Government that the country had seen extra-constitutional authority being flaunted in the form of RSS leaders. Those days, he said, RSS functionaries like Madan Das Devi, K Sudarshan and Ram Madhav regularly used to brief the media outside the Prime Minister’s residence at 7 Race Course Road.