Opinion - Editorials   

Not an uplifting choice

THE CHOICE OF the former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a veteran from the RSS stable, as the ruling National Democratic Alliance's nominee for Vice-Presidentship is another instance of the BJP's blatant partisanship in selecting people for high Constitutional office. Unlike in the case of the election of the President where it managed to `enforce' a near consensus in favour of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the party leadership put up not even a pretence of consensus and the reason has everything to do with differences in the composition of the electoral colleges for the two prestigious positions; for the Vice-President election, the combined strength of the NDA in the two Houses of Parliament gives it a clear majority, something that it lacked in the case of the Presidential contest and so was forced to secure support from outside its fold, a classic case of making a virtue of necessity. So much for the BJP's much-flaunted `commitment' to the consensual process in matters of supreme national interest and in areas of governance that should lie beyond the narrow confines of partisan politics.

In fact, Mr. Shekhawat's nomination appears to be another part of the BJP's long-term design to use the levers of the political power that have come under its control — thanks to the disparate coalition it could cobble up with some power-hungry `secular' groups — for placing men (or women) of its own ideological persuasion in key positions of parliamentary or Constitutional authority. Just over two months ago, the nation was witness to a staunch Shiv Sainik, Manohar Joshi, being elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha without contest. There could not be a more bitter irony than to have the destiny of the country's supreme body of popular representatives placed in the hands of a person who belongs to a school of thought that has nothing but contempt for such liberal concepts as the rule of law, secularism and pluralism. And now, when Mr. Shekhawat becomes the Vice-President and ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (a certainty, given the NDA-favouring arithmetic in the electoral college), the Upper House too will have at its helm a strong votary of Hindutva. What is, of course, more disturbing and reprehensible is that the so-called `secular' parties are shamelessly aiding and abetting all these cynical games played out by the BJP, a case of crass opportunism.

Basically, what needs to be recognised is that, in the Constitutional scheme of things, the offices of President and Vice-President have, by design, been accorded a lofty status, visualised as they are as quintessential manifestations of all the values and principles embodied in the Constitution. Secularism, cultural diversity and equality before the law to cite only a few examples. Therefore it is that national consensus is always the preferred route of choosing the candidates for these special positions, although it might not have been always followed in the past when the Congress had a majority. Even where the ruling establishment has enough numbers in the electoral college concerned to give it a decisive say in the matter, the stress should generally be on sounding out the other sections of the political spectrum on the acceptability of its choice.

If a regime similarly placed chooses, instead, not to strive for a consensus but to force a contest (sure of its victory), such a unilateral course need not in itself be held against it as a major crime, as long as its nominee's credentials do not fall short of the core requirements of the preeminent office concerned as defined by the spirit of the Constitution. It is precisely on this count that the BJP stands discredited for having pitchforked an unabashed advocate of Hindutva majoritarianism like Mr. Shekhawat for the Vice-Presidentship in succession to the incumbent, Krishna Kant, what with his RSS legacy representing everything that is repugnant to the basic values of the Constitution.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Not an uplifting choice
• Preparing for a drought
• Censorship in the nuclear age
• The G-8 summit and beyond
• Trade, the dividing factor here
• Indefensible decision
• Neglected regions
• Bill's main failure
• Teachers & unions
• No commitment
• In poor taste
• Helping small investors

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu