A highly questionable decision

BY SHOWING SUCH undue haste in installing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in power, the Bihar Governor, Mr. Vinod Pande, has thrown to the winds some of the healthy procedures, evolved in recent times, to deal with situations where elections throw up a fractured verdict. The transparency that marked the dealings by the President, Mr. K. R. Narayanan, in the wake of the hung verdict at the Centre in 1998 - when he insisted on letters of support from all the parties before inviting Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee to form the Government - had provided a salutary guideline for such situations. Even if it is true that the floor of the State Legislative Assembly and not the Raj Bhavan lawns is the proper place for a head count, the imperative for the Bihar Governor was to initiate wide-ranging consultations among the parties, particularly the smaller groups, and ascertain which way they were inclined to go before inviting either of the claimants - Mr. Nitish Kumar or Mrs. Rabri Devi - to form the Government. And if only he had followed this course, Mr. Pande could not have glossed over the fact that Mr. Nitish Kumar was far short of the half way mark - 163 - in the State Assembly. By his own admission, Mr. Nitish Kumar had the support of only 151 MLAs. Instead, Mr. Pande simply went ahead to install an NDA Government even when it was clear that the combine was in a minority. The decision not only smacks of partisan behaviour on the part of the Governor but also amounts to a direct encouragement from him to the NDA to engage in horse-trading. There is no way that the NDA can muster the requisite strength in the State Assembly other than by ``managing'' splits in the smaller parties between now and the time when Mr. Nitish Kumar seeks the confidence vote.

Moreover, Mr. Pande invited the NDA nominee even after he was formally informed by the Congress(I)'s Bihar unit president, Mr. Sadanand Singh, that the 23 members of the party were supporting Mrs. Rabri Devi's claim to form the Government. It was clear that despite Mr. Nitish Kumar presenting a supplementary list of five Independent MLAs, taking his strength to 151 (based on which he was invited by the Governor), the RJD's claim was marginally stronger. Apart from the fact that the Governor was aware of a written agreement between the Congress(I) and the RJD, Mrs. Rabri Devi had obtained a commitment in writing from the BSP, the CPI(M), the RCP and the MCC, together accounting for 10 MLAs supporting her claim. Thus the RJD had the support of as many as 155 MLAs.

Meanwhile, the CPI and the CPI(ML), with a combined strength of 12 MLAs, had made it abundantly clear that while they would definitely vote against the NDA in the State Assembly, their MLAs would only abstain in the event of Mrs. Rabri Devi forming the Government. This clearly meant that while Mr. Nitish Kumar will need the support of 163 MLAs (a dozen more than he could enlist) Mrs. Rabri Devi needed only one more than the 151 to sail through the confidence vote in the Assembly. The RJD had mustered the support of at least 155 MLAs, at least four more than the 151 it needed.

All these developments, taking place as they did, in full public glare, could not have escaped Mr. Pande's attention. It is shocking that he chose to overlook them. Instead, he appears to have rushed to install a minority Government. And by this, well- established Constitutional principles have been trampled upon. Putting in place a minority Government, without caring to evaluate the claims of the other side, is not only a partisan act on the Governor's part but also a highly regrettable precedent in its blatant invitation to horse-trading.

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Section  : Opinion
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