HVK Archives: Tragedy or farce?
Tragedy or farce? - The Pioneer
Editorial
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21 April 1997
Title : Tragedy or farce?
Author : Editorial
Publication : The Pioneer
Date : April 21, 1997
It is not often that the BJP leader, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
refers to Karl Marx in his speeches; his politics is entirely out
of tune with what Marx would have liked the world to follow. But,
on Saturday, Mr Vajpayee could not have found a better expression
than the one he borrowed from the father of communism. He openly
admitted that Marx was "correct" when he said that men and events
appear as if twice in history, the first time as a tragedy and the
second as a farce. Mr Vajpayee quoted Marx in the context of the
13-party United Front's naked desire to retain power at the Centre.
His argument has merit that after its defeat in the Lok Sabha on
April 11, the UF has lost "the moral and constitutional" right to
make another bid for government formation, although it has now
formally done so. Few will question Mr Vajpayee for doubting the
stability of another minority UF Government propped by Congress
support.
In fact, the nation must share Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee's concerns
which touch upon the very core of our parliamentary democracy. The
President, in his wisdom, has invited the new UF leader to form the
Government yet again, but there is no denying that the new
arrangement lacks the moral sanction of the first experiment. The
UF's fresh bid for power is based on the specious plea that the
expression of no-confidence in its Government implies lack of trust
in Mr HD Deve Gowda alone. Mr Vajpayee's assertion is perfectly
logical in that the vote of confidence was not about an individual
but about "the acts of commission and omission" of the Government
as a whole.
Admittedly, this situation has created political uncertainty which
cannot be allowed to linger on. It has already paralysed the
administration. It has resulted in financial instability as well.
There is the Budget pending before Parliament, but it has been
hanging fire following the Congress's decision to withdraw support.
Grudgingly though, quite a few communist leaders, Mr Somnath
Chatterjee, for instance, also see the futility of persisting with
the present political dispensation at the top. They have not
hidden their doubts about the longevity of a second UF Government
in view of Congress's "unpredictable behaviour". But obsessed with
the idea of keeping the BJP out of power, and afraid of facing the
electorate, they continue to flog a dead horse. Whatever
arrangement is cobbled together has little chance of even
medium-term survival; knowingly, all the parties concerned are in
the process of enacting a farce. It is clear that elections and
elections alone can lead to a lasting solution to the current
political imbroglio. The only question is how soon. As recent
opinion polls show, the voters would prefer this sooner rather than
later.
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