HVK Archives: A stop forward
A stop forward - The Observer
Editorial
()
May 11, 1998
Title: A stop forward
Author: Editorial
Publication: The Observer
Date: May 11, 1998
The first meeting of the coordination committee of the BJP-led
ruling coalition on Saturday came as a pleasant surprise. Given
the unreconciled agenda of some member-parties and the acerbic
equation prevailing between quite a few of its leading lights,
many had apprehended the proceedings to be marked more by heat
than restraint. In the event, the fear has been belied. This is
no small gain for the ruling alliance which has too often been
racked by one controversy or the other in the short time it has
been in office.
On retrospect, one wonders why putting in place the mechanism of
a coordination committee did not get the urgency it deserves. The
differences - for example, on the demand of some constituents for
invocation of Article 356 of the Constitution have not certainly
been resolved. Nor is it likely to be resolved in a hurry. But
the important thing is that the differences are not allowed to
spill over into the public domain. The first meeting of the
coordination committee thus marks a step forward in that
direction. Barring the irrepressible Ms Mamata Banerjee of the
Trinamool Congress, the rest of the party delegates have not
spoken out of turn. This augurs well for the coordination
committee, as confidentiality is a sine qua non of its productive
functioning. Hopefully, the same culture would rub off on Ms
Mamata too before long.
Reportedly, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was called upon
to execute some nimble footwork on the power ordinance. He had to
reassure the AIADMK and Akali Dal delegates that their
reservations on the time-bound roll back of subsidy would be
reflected in the Bill through suitable amendments. This is
nothing to be cavilled at. For, such give and take are the stuff
that lubricates a multi-party coalition. To its credit, the first
meeting of the coordination committee was not bogged down in
balancing differing viewpoints among member-parties. The
formation of seven task forces on critical areas like devolution
of more powers to the states is testimony that the meeting did
pursue serious business as well.
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