India's Gandhi walks away from PM job

Haaretz ^ | May 18, 2004 | Reuters

[yonif]

NEW DELHI - Italian-born Sonia Gandhi dropped out of the race to become India's prime minister on Tuesday to end debate over her foreign birth, opening the way for her Congress party to choose an economic reformer as its leader.

"I must humbly decline this post," she told an uproarious meeting of lawmakers from her Congress party.

Fighting to make herself heard above indignant shouts from her supporters, she said: "I request you to accept my decision and to recognize that I will not reverse it.

"It is my inner voice, my conscience," said Gandhi, 57-year-old widow of murdered former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

She gave no immediate public signal as to who she wished to head the new government. But the NDTV network said Gandhi was pushing former finance minister Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms.

The withdrawal by the heir of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty - India's equivalent of America's Kennedys - had earlier triggered anguished scenes outside her New Delhi home as hundreds of supporters rallied to press her to change her mind.

One man stood on the roof of a car, held a home-made gun to his head and waved a stick to deter people trying to calm him.

"Call Sonia Gandhi! Tell her I will kill myself if she doesn't become prime minister!" he said before being disarmed.

Others lay down in the street or torched effigies of Gandhi's Hindu nationalist opponents, who have run a bitter campaign targeting her Italian background after their humiliating election loss last week. "Congress has informed us that Mrs. Gandhi will no longer be leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, and they are meeting to elect a new leader," said Sitaram Yechuri, a leader of the main Communist Party of India (Marxist), which has pledged its support to a Congress coalition government.

Lawmakers meet

Congress leaders had made frantic last minute efforts to persuade Gandhi to stay on and become India's first foreign born prime minister and the fourth from the Nehru-Gandhi clan.

Her withdrawal, and the prospect of Singh leading Asia's third-largest economy, spurred markets, helping stocks on the Bombay exchange post their second-biggest daily rally just a day after the worst plunge in the exchange's 129-year history.

At Gandhi's residence, Congress leaders, some beating their chests, urged her to ignore what they called the ousted Bharatiya Janata Party's "racist" campaign.

"She feels the country comes first, she does not want the country to be faced with this," said Congress official Salman Khursheed. "We are stunned, it is shocking, I just can't see the Congress party accepting such an outcome."

Left-wing parties, with more than 60 seats, were supporting Gandhi without formally joining her coalition, but have spooked markets with anti-privatization comments.

As news of Gandhi's possible withdrawal filtered out, the stock market rebounded sharply and recorded one of its biggest gains.

"The market has gone up because of news that Sonia is reluctant to be PM," said Bharat Shah, director of Vikram Kenia Securities. "This means that Manmohan Singh, who is very reformist, will become prime minister."

Gandhi, an Indian citizen, and Singh met President Abdul Kalam earlier on Tuesday to open talks about forming government. Gandhi said later she would meet Kalam again on Wednesday.

Kalam had invited Gandhi to meet him as leader of the biggest party in the new parliament, and is likely to accept Congress' claim to power in the world's largest democracy.

[dfwgator]

"It is my inner voice, my conscience,"

Being a PM named "Gandhi" isn't exactly the world's safest profession.

[arm958]

That Sonia is an impressive woman. Too bad many Indians can't get over the foreign born thing.

[noscreenname]

Hummm.

Theresa Heinz-Kerry is an 'heiress' without having been born to it, and this woman is a "Ghandi" by the same measure?

Seems a bit similar. Obviously the business concerns of India understand the distinction as witnessed by the see-saw reaction of the Indian stock market.

[WOSG]

Well, remember in our country that native-born rule is in the Constitution. It's not an unreasonable expectation.
IMHO, we should keep it that way. We can pass on Arnold for President.

Of course, she is also not Hindu, so that is something too.

[arm958]

I find myself having to agree with you, to an extent. However, my younger daughter, who was born in the Nuernburg U.S. Army Hospital in 1991 (to two native born Americans whose ancestors fought in the war which gave us independence in the first place) is not permitted by the constitution to hold the office of President. That's nuts.

[rarebird]

Did people not know of her foreign birth BEFORE they voted in the election? It's no secret, and I assume that India's constitution allowed her to run. She (or rather her party, through her) was democratically elected so why should she step down?

[RonF]

Are you saying that a child born of two American citizens is not considered a native-born American citizen? Are you sure about that?

[Ronaldus Magnus]

Although I support this constitutional prohibition, I believe that your daughter would be exempt since U.S. military bases are considered to be U.S. Territory.

[mrustow]

I find myself having to agree with you, to an extent. However, my younger daughter, who was born in the Nuernburg U.S. Army Hospital in 1991 (to two native born Americans whose ancestors fought in the war which gave us independence in the first place) is not permitted by the constitution to hold the office of President. That's nuts.

Nuernberg (Nuremberg, in English) is a lovely town, but I'm sure that if you check, you'll find that once she reaches the age of 38, your daughter may legally become president of these United States if she wishes, and the planets so align.

[RonF]

you'll find that once she reaches the age of 38

Constitution says 35.

[RightWhale]

once she reaches the age of 38

Or even sooner.

[noscreenname]

Portuguese, born in Mozambique.

Met John Heinz in Switzerland while she was going to interpreters school (with an eye toward working for the scrU N). Naturalized citizen in 1971 when sh registered as a Republican (he husband was a Republican 'much loved by the Democrat establishment as he always voted with them against his party).

The primary concern I have about her refusal to release her taxes is because until she does we'll never know which organizations her 4.5 million in tax deductible donations went.

[rarebird]

John McCain was born abroad (Panama, I believe) but on a U.S. base. That didn't stop him from running for president so I doubt it would stop your daughter from doing so either.

[mrustow]

Does it? Then I stand corrected.

[swarthyguy]

But the NDTV network said Gandhi was pushing former finance minister Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms.

-Outsourcing continues.

-Pentagon and MOD continue close cooperation - re: Indian Navy and US Navy joint patrols in Molucca Straits and Bay of Bengal.

-Wet dreams of India bashers dashed.

-All the Communists want is for some outsourcing dollars to go into states like Bengal and Kerala where they run State govts.

-Voter perception of BJP as Bush's poodle - kowtowing to US demands not to attack Pak and risk nuke war, US hugging of MUsh, and insistence on treating Pak on parity with India (more perception than reality, but hey, that's what counts) damaging to BJP.

-Sonia's self sacrifice, strategic, as now NO ONE will be able to deny her kids their due when their turn comes.

[M. Dodge Thomas]

"Citizen at Birth" is defined in Title 8 of the U.S. Code.

For example, if a child is born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents, as long as at least one lived in the United States before the person was born, or born outside the United States if one parent is a U.S. citizen who lived in the U.S. for at least a year, and the other is a U.S. national, the child is a "citizen at birth".