Spoke in Congress wheel, made in Italy.

(From Indian Express)

WELL, well, well. Who would have thought that Sonia Gandhi's former tea party companion and ally in government toppling would one day spell out for her exactly why she should abandon her dream of becoming Prime Minister of our benighted land. In that incestuous, little world that politicians and political journalists inhabit, there are many who privately admit that Sonia's Italian origins are a serious problem but only a handful dare say this publicly. As one who counts in that handful, may I say that every time I have drawn attention to the complications and the shame of India having an Italian prime ministerial candidate I have been vilified as chauvinistic, racist and (ultimate insult) 'pro-BJP''. So, it warmed the cockles of my chauvinistic heart to hear Dr J Jayalalithaa say, last week, that it was ''a crying shame'' that in a country of a billion people we should find only a foreigner to lead us. She proceeded then to deliver a sermon to the Congress Party and although this is not a party given to introspection its senior leaders-especially Sonia-would do well to mull over Dr JJ's words particularly her reference to ''moral bankruptcy''. Congress spokesman, Jaipal Reddy, with his penchant for cliches, pronounced after Dr JJ's sermon that she was ''flogging a dead horse''. This is, sadly for Sonia, far from the truth and the closer we get to the next general election the more likely the horse is to come increasingly alive. Moreover, as recent polls indicate, Sonia appears to have already become a liability for the Congress. Sick and tired of the BJP's rabid Hindutva and its greedy, petrol-pump grabbing politicians the Indian voter is showing signs of wanting to return to Congress but then appears before him the image of Prime Minister Sonia and confusion sets in. If the BJP manages to cobble together another government in 2004 it will be almost entirely because of the Sonia factor. She has now been in politics long enough and should be able to see this but wherever she goes she attracts crowds and this can deceive the most seasoned of politicos. Even Mummy-in-law, the original Mrs G, was deceived enough during the Emergency till it was too late to defeat Raj Narain leave alone win India. Sonia faces another problem that the other Mrs Gandhi did: sycophancy. Wherever she goes sycophants surround her and sycophantic drivel can be found plastered on walls and in newspapers. Only last week, the day after Dr JJ's sermon, a newspaper from her home state of Tamil Nadu had this little message from H Vasanthakumar, AICC, Tamil Nadu. ''Our Pride is Mother ...