Power without responsibilty

Yes, I agree that Sonia Gandhi stands shoulders and above the petty politicians of BJP. To club them together will not only be inappropriate but also amount to insulting the honesty and sincerity of the Italian born Congress President.

But, I somehow never can't tomtom like the rest of the media that she is a great "renunciant" who doesn't crave for power. This is not a hard nut to crack; just consider the irony that the renunciant is the most powerful person in India at the moment.
In the days to come, I bet we will also be subjected to news of political intriques within the Congress party - bewteen the Sonia coterie and the PM camp.

Well, the reason why sonia refused to lead the party in 1991 and 1998 is precisely the same one why she declined the post of Prime Minister now: she is incompetent for the job. To her credit, Sonia is graceful enough to accept this fact and pass on the baton to good ol amiable doctor. That's why I said Sonia is honest and sincere at the outset, no doubt about that. She knows too well she never can't give an extempore speech without someone ghostwriting it for her before. Being PM means you have to accomplish far more serious and complex duties that she wouldn't be able to handle competently, or without looking like a fool.

So, in a masterstroke, she renounced the PM post and that decision has catapulted her to a high moral pedestal in the eyes of the Indians. But most significantly, the arrangement has given her unprecedented power without responsibilty, which might be exactly what Sonia wanted.

Earlier Imocha Huidrom wrote:

Read you rather cynical take on Sonia Gandhi's refusal to become PM. While I'm no big fan of the Congress party and understand the necessity of 'objectivity' in journalistic columns, your inconsistent theory does not explain why she had refused to take up the leadership of the party in 1991 and 1998. Yes, the move is certainly a smart one on her part, but you cannot also discount the renunciatory element. And for that alone, Sonia's act puts her way above the Uma Bharati's and Sushma Swaraj's of Indian politics, who stand exposed as nothing but power hungry and venal who'd stop at nothing.