Rahul Gandhi spells the end of the ordinance to protect convicted lawmakers, while PM is in the US

The ordinance seeking to protect convicted lawmakers looks set to fall through, in another exhibition of the unique nature of Indian democracy. At a time when the Prime Minister is in the United States, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi gate crashed a low-key conference at the Press Club of India at Raisina Road in New Delhi to spell the end of the ordinance.

"My opinion is that it is complete nonsense. It should be torn up and thrown out," Gandhi said, as Ajay Maken, the head of communications for Congress, whose show it originally was, sat in the next chair and looked at him with admiring eyes.

Ordinances are meant for urgent legislative action at a time Parliament is not in session. The Cabinet had cleared this one on Tuesday and forwarded it for the President's approval. With the scion of the Congress, which heads the ruling coalition, denouncing it in no uncertain terms, the ordinance seems set to be withdrawn.

Gandhi was not even supposed to be at the Press Club today. In his own words, "I asked Mr Maken what he was doing. He said he was coming here. I asked him what it was about and he said it was about the ordinance. So I also came."

Stopping to use the restroom at the gate before marching rapidly to the stage, Gandhi was a man in a hurry. He won't make it a long press conference, he said. But what he said was loud (literally) and clear (in every way).

According to him, people keep giving him arguments in favour of the ordinance, which were all about "political considerations", that every party did such things.

"The time has come to stop this nonsense. It is time to stop making compromises.... This ordinance is wrong."

With those words, he marched out with the same vigour with which he had marched in, leaving Maken to field a chorus of questions.

Maken embraced the simple solution of steadfast repetitions. To almost every question he said the same thing: "Rahul ji is our leader. This is now our official position. Now the Congress party is opposed to the ordinance. Issues take time to evolve."

In the time it took Rahul Gandhi to make up his mind, President Pranab Mukherjee had sought clarifications from Law Minister Kapil Sibal, Home Minister Sushil Shinde and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath on the justification of the ordinance, which seeks to negate a Supreme Court verdict on convicted lawmakers and allow them to hold on to their seats in Parliament and state legislature.