It's all so familiar. Congress watchers did not have to ponder for long over the unlikely Pawar-Anwar-Sangma axis, it was such a patently obvious take on the Amar, Akbar, Anthony theme. A frivolous parallel? Not quite. When Pawar was asked how the three Congress Working Commit-tee members came together, pat came the reply:"One is a Hindu, another a Christian and the third a Muslim." Please note, not a word on the ideological and factional dynamics behind this unexpected assertion of Indian pride and loud reassertion of doubts about the security implications of having a foreign-born at 7 Race Course Road.

And even as old-timers adjusted to a turn-of-the-century time frame and murmured that a weekend is a long time in politics, the Grand Old Party showed just how long 24 hours can be. Indeed, after a surprisingly low-key build-up to Sonia Gandhi's seven minutes with her CWC, ever since it's been an emotional roller-coaster. Instead of steely disciplinary proceedings against the rebellious troika, especially after her decision to take to the streets to counter the BJP's campaign against her foreign origin, Sonia too has settled for an old-fashioned pained sulk. And if her characteristically terse letter of resignation -- "I am Indian and I will remain Indian till my last breath. India is my motherland, dearer to me than my ownlife" -- seemed curiously familiar, well, that's because it was. Remember Indira Gandhi's famous words at Bhubaneshwar, a day before she was assassinated by her own bodyguards?

Theatrics, no doubt, are an integral part of election-mode India -- remember Atal Behari Vajpayee's fast after Kalyan Singh's dismissal -- but the Congress spin doctors orchestrating the current flurry of resignations and even more resignations have laid it on a bit too thick. This mass hysteria may stymie any further rebellion within the party from gathering momentum, it may deftly sidestep the thorny imperative to respond the banner of revolt raised by Pawar and co, it may buy Sonia's thinktank precious time.

But while it keeps the country rivetted, this sycophantic burst of emotion cannot be a substitute for gritty clarifications about the Congress' prime ministerial aspirant. For better or for worse, Sonia Gandhi's foreign birth is part of public debate; the party would do well to address it soberly. Excitable prime timeaudiences don't always translate into votes.