The Hindu : Sense of disbelief among the allies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 10, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Sense of disbelief among the allies

By K. K. Katyal

NEW DELHI MAY 9. On Wednesday afternoon when the news of the Union Heavy Industries Minister, Manohar Joshi, emerging as the only candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post trickled into the parliamentary lobbies, there was a sense of disbelief even among a section of the ruling alliance, apart from the Opposition. "How come the Congress (I) accepted the choice of this Shiv Sena leader'' was the recurring comment. It was known that the Government side had been in touch with the Congress (I) and others in the Opposition for "consultation'', which, of course, was no more than a pro forma exercise. That the Congress appeared to have acquiesced in the choice of Mr. Joshi from the short list (that included two others, notably the Union Petroleum Minister, Ram Naik), was considered a matter of surprise.

True, a convention has been established by now under which the ruling party or the combine gets the post of the Speaker and, in turn, the Deputy Speaker is chosen from among the Opposition. It was in keeping with this tradition that G. M. C. Balayogi of the Telugu Desam (the outside supporter of the Government) became the presiding officer and P. M. Sayeed of the Congress(I) his deputy. To the extent the convention prevailed upon party politics in the process, promising the uncontested election of the Speaker, it was a healthy development. But ironies flowing out of this process could have been avoided. The Congress(I) was in no position to block the Government's choice but it could have made known its reservations. In practice, the Congress(I) merely told the Government that the choice was its prerogative and left the matter at that. The party later realised the implications of its passive stand and sought to distance itself from the choice — it did not associate itself with the nomination process, while emphasising that it did not convey its approval, explicitly or by implication. Its spokesmen, however, found it hard to hide their embarrassment.

Had Gujarat not erupted on the scene, the Telugu Desam would certainly have nominated one of its MPs. But it sought to demarcate itself from the ruling combine in the wake of the wanton killings — so as not to convey a wrong message to the minorities. In future, the Telugu Desam would not feel obliged to back the Government. Its support will be "issue-based'' — it may not ditch the Government in a crucial test of strength but its continued support could not be taken for granted.

There are other aspects of the Speaker nomination episode that have not gone unnoticed.

One, the BJP felt compelled to accommodate an ally which often became troublesome. This was a sign of the weakness of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. He did not — could not — resist the pressure from a group which otherwise was close to the BJP ideologically. In the past, the fiats of the Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray, were instrumental in creating unseemly situations for the NDA, leading to the exit, though very brief, of its Ministers — Mr. Manohar Joshi not excluded — from the Government.

Two, trivial considerations weighed with the NDA in zeroing in on Mr. Joshi. He opted for the new job because he was not happy with his present charge, the Ministry for Heavy Industries, especially because he was often overruled in the matter of important decisions on disinvestments. As against that, Mr. Ram Naik, who appeared a front-runner for Speakership, was happy with his present charge, the Petroleum Ministry, and was disinclined to leave it.

Three, the Prime Minister did offer the job to the Telugu Desam in the first instance but neither he nor the BJP was particularly unhappy when the TDP declined it. The BJP, which was upset with the Deputy Speaker's ruling in allowing discussion-cum-voting on Gujarat, was keen to have the presiding officer's job in "safe'' hands. Highly regrettable because it did not indicate recognition of the independence of the top office in the parliamentary set-up. Mr. Manohar Joshi was chosen, apart from other factors, because of his good equation with a senior BJP Minister, Pramod Mahajan.

It was this aspect that led the former Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, to express the hope that Mr. Joshi would rise to the occasion and maintain the dignity and independence of the office he is about to embark upon. It was a hallowed chair once occupied by tall persons like Vithalbhai Patel (before Independence) and G. V. Mavlankar, whose rulings were accepted by the governments of the day — the British rulers in the first case and the Nehru Government in the second case, Mr. Gujral recalled.

And last but not the least, it is a pity that an important office should have gone to a fringe group which had earned notoriety, both at home and abroad, because of its fanatical view of important topical issues and of the history. For this group to get legitimacy at this moment, when communal strife in Gujarat had dented the country's image, is most unfortunate.

To say this is not to question the personal qualities of Mr. Joshi. Those at the Centre before the NDA rule who had dealt with him in his capacity as Chief Minister of Maharashtra found him a highly sensible person, good at articulation. In a television interview he was asked whether he would be remote-controlled in the discharge of his new responsibilities. He replied he had the assurance of Mr. Bal Thackeray to function independently!

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

Stories in this Section

Legitimising the Shiv Sena

Grim facets of terror

Political correctness

An alibi that isn't

Golwalkar and the BJP

Sense of disbelief among the allies

And the twain shall never meet