Stop murdering democracy
The Asian Age India | Siddhartha Reddy
Good Morning, Soniaji. This is your wake-up call. Coffee is on the way. What do you want on today's political menu?" "Thank you, Manmohanji. I want Goa for breakfast, Jharkhand for lunch and Bihar for dinner."
"On the way, Soniaji. I will direct Chefs Jamir, Sibtey and Buta. Bon appetit. Have a nice day."
"Thanks, but on March 10, after the high court unseats 40 SP MLAs who defected from the BSP, I want Mulayam for dessert!"
The above, obviously an imaginary conversation, it seems, is just what Manmohan Singh is capable of. He is the first Prime Minister who isn't prime ministerial. Manmohan must not forget the oath he took to protect the Constitution. And Sonia Gandhi must accept responsibility and sack her working committee.
She has hurt the Communists by unwisely making Manmohan invite Mamata Banerjee to join the Cabinet. She has displeased Karunanidhi by not removing Jayalalitha and by strategising to weaken the DMK in Tamil Nadu. She has violated the single largest party's rights, snatching the chief minister's post from the NCP in Maharashtra. She has not delivered Telangana and weakened Shibu Soren by destabilising the electoral fortunes of the JMM in Jharkhand. She also tried decimating Lalu in connivance with Paswan.
Thus she has lost the moral authority to be the UPA chairperson. The allies, pressurised her to prove her loyalty to the coalition as otherwise they would form an alternate government, even by taking the BJP's outside support. Hence, to save her position as UPA chairperson, she conspired to negate the voters' mandate in Jharkhand and Bihar.
Incidentally, if Bihar gets a President's Rule, it will be unchecked Lalu rule, as the governor and all advisers will be Lalu loyalists.
Thanks to Sonia Gandhi and L.K. Advani, the first-ever BJP-Congress tactical alliance was created in Haryana to defeat Om Prakash Chautala, Lalu in Bihar and Soren in Jharkhand. Congress lists were showed to the BJP before finalising the candidates. And BJP tickets were allotted according to Congress-prepared lists.
Allegedly, Sushma Swaraj in Haryana, Yashwant Sinha in Jharkhand and Modi in Bihar denied dedicated BJP karyakartas to impose candidates who were certain-losers. Had they not damaged the BJP, governors wouldn't have come into play. The BJP could have avoided a Haryana massacre.
While governor Syed Sibte Razi is a shame, the BJP is forgetting that in 1996, a BJP-Shiv Sena-Akali Dal alliance had just 185 MPs out of 543. Not one of the remaining 358 MPs expressed support. Yet, President S.D. Sharma swore in a BJP-led government which ruled India for 13 days, without a mandate. On the 13th day, during discussion on the confidence vote, the about-to-lose BJP government conducted a Cabinet meeting during lunch break and cleared the corrupt Enron deal.
In Goa, the BJP lured the Congress MLAs to swear in a BJP government by governor Mohd. Fazal. In Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP converted a Congress government into a BJP government blessed by governor Arvind Dave. In 2001, in Manipur, the BJP swallowed the entire Congress government by converting it into an NDA government facilitated by governor Dave.
Advani's politics is convoluted. The RJD did not get the mandate. It's a hung Assembly. So the RJD does not have the right to govern Bihar. Similarly, in Jharkhand, the BJP government lost its majority. It's a hung Assembly. Voters threw out Arjun Munda and the BJP. Yet, the party re-elected Munda as the leader and wants to govern Jharkhand. His infectious political morality certainly inspired Soren and Razi.
In 2000, Nitish did not have a majority. He had fewer MLAs than required, with not even a ghost of a chance of securing a majority. Yet Advani made governor Vinod Pande install Nitish as chief minister and give him 21 days to prove his majority. On the 21st day Nitish resigned without facing a confidence vote. Now, Advani opposes the governor's move to swear in Rabri Devi.
As for Ram Vilas Paswan, he wants to be UPA minister but he also wants the NDA to make him chief minister. Otherwise, he seeks a coalition with the BJP's ally, with his brother as deputy CM. Else, he wants President's Rule. The BJP-Congress strategic interests desire Paswan as CM because that will isolate Lalu. If Lalu has his way, then Paswan will be thrown out of the Cabinet in May.
Just 74 seats for the RJD out of a total of 243 seats, mean a loud "no" from the Biharis. That mandate must be respected. The best way to resolve the situation is to hold fresh elections. This time the Biharis will give a clear verdict.
Political morality and a Congress government can only be an impossible coincidence. It has been so right from the time of Nehru. The Congress had agreed to two Muslim League ministers, coalition partners in United Provinces (UP). After the elections, two Congress Muslims were sworn in, but the Muslim League was kept out. Angry, the Muslim League screamed, "Partition."
In 1975, the Allahabad High Court unseated Indira Gandhi from Rae Bareily. She could have resigned, installed her own man as PM, won the court battle and become PM herself. But she suspended democracy and imposed Emergency.
But history can only assist in diagnosis. Cure has to be administered by the present to save the future. The Constitution is clear. A President or governor can swear in any citizen as the Prime Minister or chief minister. The time frame for proving the majority isn't specified. The President or the governor can stipulate a period obeying the mood of its political masters.
Prime Minister Singh must now meet people from different walks of life and politicians to arrive at a "government formation drill", which must be the gospel for Presidents and governors. This must be debated by Parliament and incorporated in the Constitution. Until then, the Congress and the BJP certainly don't deserve the nation's handkerchief to wipe their crocodile tears.
Siddhartha Reddy can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.asianage.com/?INA=2:175:175:146191� 2005 The Asian Age
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