Author: Rajinder Puri
Publication: The Free Press Journal
Date: April 4, 2006
URL: http://www.samachar.com/features/040406-features.html
It is common to hear in drawing room conversations
these days how democracy is being destroyed by rustic roughnecks. True, Laloo
Yadav and compatriots have established a precedent that no minister need relinquish
office even after arrest, unless convicted by a court of law.
In contrast our middle class heroes vainly
battle to restore decency in public life. Middle class heroes have impeccable
manners. But what is their record? Their actions have in fact been more damaging
to the system. The media of course remains too charmed by good manners to
question them. A few examples from their record might be instructive.
It was an established convention that only
a member of Lok Sabha could become prime minister. Until Indira Gandhi became
PM even though she was in Rajya Sabha. Madhu Limaye prepared a Bill to ensure
that only a Lok Sabha MP could become PM.
Meanwhile Indira Gandhi legitimized her post
by winning a Lok Sabha seat. She persuaded Limaye to withdraw the Bill so
that she might introduce a more comprehensive Bill. Limaye obliged. The proposed
Bill never saw light of day.
Things got worse. After Rajiv Gandhi's assassination
political compulsions persuaded Congress to make Narasimha Rao the PM. Rao
was made PM even though he was not a member of either House. Later he legitimized
his post by winning the Nandyal by-election. The poll campaign in that election
was characterized by glaring electoral malpractice conveniently ignored, by
Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan.
Taking advantage of the precedent set by Rao,
Deve Gowda, a member of the Karnataka Assembly, also became PM without being
an MP. There arose the piquant situation, then, in which Gowda as leader of
the House could not vote in it. But as PM he did fly to Karnataka to vote
in the Assembly because he had not resigned from it.
The Rajya Sabha was established to ensure
representation of the States in Parliament. Therefore only permanent residents
of a state were eligible to represent it in the Rajya Sabha. But middle class
heroes like LK Advani and Dr Manmohan Singh, to name just a few, blithely
presented false affidavits claiming to be permanent residents of a State by
getting registered there as voters and giving spurious addresses as their
permanent residence.
This malpractice became then so widespread
that Parliament decided eventually to do away with the precondition of permanent
residence for the right to represent a State in Rajya Sabha. Now any citizen
from anywhere in the country can contest Rajya Sabha membership from any State
he chooses.
Theoretically, therefore, 200 residents of
Delhi can become Rajya Sabha MPs representing all the States of our Republic.
All this has been accomplished by middle class heroes with the tacit consent
of mainstream media and of the decent gentry chattering away in Page Three
parties. Forget the generalized past. Come to the immediate present.
Take a good look at the record of the most
distinguished icon among middle class heroes. Consider Dr Manmohan Singh's
progress in politics. After the President demurred from inviting Mrs Sonia
Gandhi to become PM without first receiving certain clarifications from her,
Mrs Gandhi chose Dr Singh to become prime minister.
The basis of the President's hesitation in
swearing in Mrs Gandhi is another tale for another day. Suffice it to say
that I wrote on the subject elsewhere at the time and invited Rashtrapati
Bhawan to contradict me if my facts were wrong. A few days prior to this Rashtrapati
Bhawan had contradicted Dr Subramaniam Swamy's assertion that the issue of
Mrs Gandhi's citizenship blocked her chances.
With regard to my assertion Rashtrapati Bhawan
maintained a deafening silence. What is relevant however is Dr Singh's alacrity
in accepting the offer without observing constitutional propriety. Mrs Gandhi
announced his appointment as PM even before the Congress Parliamentary party
endorsed that decision.
Apart from setting a damaging precedent, was
it consistent with self-respect for him to accept the post without first ascertaining
the wishes of the MPs? Incidentally, a vast number of MPs openly voiced opposition
to his candidature.
Well, after Dr Singh became PM what did he
do? He gave consent to the creation of the National Advisory Council to monitor
and guide the government on matters of policy. Mrs Sonia Gandhi with cabinet
rank became chairperson of the NAC. So through the backdoor she became a super
PM to circumvent the hurdles blocking her from becoming PM.
At first it was announced that all government
files could be accessed by her. But strong protests by politicians and lawyers
prevented that. It may be recalled that just before the NDA government fell
a CBI team led by its director had abruptly cut short a foreign trip and returned
with important Bofors papers.
Nothing was heard subsequently about these
papers. With the new government in place, the CBI explained that the team
returned because the director had to attend to some personal domestic problem!
The manner in which the NAC functioned subsequently as a super cabinet led
even the Financial Times of London to deplore in an editorial such duality
of command.
Dr Singh is said to have been inhibited by
decency from preventing the excesses of Governor's rule in Goa and Jharkhand.
But the events leading to the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly stretched
such `decency' to beyond credibility.
Details about what transpired are too fresh
in memory to merit repetition. What is germane is the PM's active involvement
in the conspiracy to dismiss fraudulently the Assembly in order to prevent
Nitish Kumar from becoming chief minister.
Dr Singh presided over the midnight emergency
cabinet meeting that forwarded the papers relating to dissolution of the Assembly
to President Kalam who was then visiting Russia. To bolster its case the cabinet
thought fit to attach a post-dated newspaper clipping to Governor Buta Singh's
recommendation to dissolve the assembly.
So one might see that when circumstances compel
`decent' leaders to soil their own hands they too can oblige. The Supreme
Court of course judged the dissolution to be unconstitutional. After the verdict
one would have expected the PM to resign. But `decency' argued restraint till
the full judgment was delivered.
The Chief Justice who presided over the Constitutional
Bench has never tired of advising lower courts to expedite cases involving
VIP corruption. Constitutional crimes apparently are different. The Supreme
Court took its time delivering this crucial judgment. By the time this appears
in print it should be out. The weeks ahead will tell us then for whom the
bell tolls.
The latest accomplishment of our 'decent'
PM is of course his handling of the current Quattrocchi affair. In a brazen
display of double-faced statements the CBI first said it had nothing to do
with the decision to defreeze the London bank accounts of Bofors-accused Ottavio
Quattrocchi.
Then another spokesman of the CBI said that
it was solely responsible for the decision. The CBI comes under the Department
of Personnel, which is under the Prime Minister himself. The Prime Minister
blandly read out a statement that the government never interfered with the
`autonomous' functioning of the CBI.
Autonomous functioning? Don't insult our intelligence,
Prime Minister! The CBI cannot even investigate an official without clearance
from the government.
So while the Additional Solicitor General
went to London to defreeze Quattrocchi's accounts, the Supreme Court sternly
ordered the accounts to remain frozen.
London must be laughing its head off over
these contradictory commands coming simultaneously from Indian authorities.
And we? Should we laugh or cry?