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Sunday,
June 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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GUEST COLUMN A POINT OF VIEW |
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The
nitty-gritty of how we elect our President Rajiv Bhalla THE entire nation knows the next incumbent President. Though elections will be held on July 15, 2002, only a few Indians would know what goes on behind the scenes in a presidential election. Of ‘Kalam Iyer’
Omar
Abdullah: sobre & sophisticated politician
BJP’s
fresh impetus to anti-Congressism
Tarun
Tejpal, a victim of political vendetta
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GUEST COLUMN
THERE was a time in the history of Independent India when public discussion of defence weapons, tactics and strategy was taboo. Our defence preparations and deployment were kept under wraps. Even the Defence Minister knew nothing about the needs of the soldier, airman and sailor except what the general staff at Defence Headquarters wrote in Secret/Top secret files. The Henderson Brooks Report on the 1962 Chinese Invasion was kept under wraps so much so that even we soldiers knew nothing about its contents. I distinctly remember that the 1965 Indo-Pakistan conflict had a bird's eyeview of it in the war section of Army Headquarters. A quick analysis of Pakistan's strategy and tactics in each sector stretching from J&K in the North to Kutch in the south was indeed most revealing.
We, in Military Intelligence, looked at the major deployments and offensive actions by the Pakistan Army i.e. a view from the “Other side of the Hill”. Some incidents stand out till today. On the Lahore- Khalra axis in Punjab, we found our divisional thrust stopped by a valiant company of Pakistan Infantry deployed on a battalion frontage supported by artillery and air. Our advance was halted long enough for the sector to be reinforced and cause a stalemate. A golden opportunity to pose a major threat to Lahore was lost due to extreme caution and the lack of initiative by commanders at all levels. For them the war started here and ended here. In the Rajasthan sector we had offensive plans. Pakistan lacked sufficient regular troops and during war itself raised a brigade of HURS (A warrior tribe) and ex-serviceman within days to hold a sector while it withdrew regulars to launch a surprise offensive in the Longewal sector. This offensive completely jolted our forces. Offensive plans were cancelled and all energy diverted to blunt the Pak offensive. The commander who raised the HUR Brigade in seven days flat and he who launched the surprise offensive at short notice acted brilliantly — but there were no awards. On our side the failed commander who halted on the Khalsa Axis was decorated! I have never believed that we won the 1965 Indo-Pak war. There was no winner. If we captured territory in Punjab, Pakistan showed remarkable aggression in Chamb-Jaurian, Khemkaran and Rajasthan Sectors. The year 1971 saw us rightly aggressive with our tactics and strategy minutely planned and implemented. There was the necessary secrecy about our preparations, with the Press playing its part to gain world sympathy, which was fully achieved. The Press never disclosed operational plans and strategy as it is doing today. It was indeed amusing to see a national weekly playing a defence planners by adopting brilliant plans adorned with thrust lines (Board Arrows), the final aim being to stop infiltration in J&K and slice off part of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). The layman reader should have been impressed! This brings me to the crux of the issue I want to raise. Should the media and the public (this includes retired service officers) dabble in the nation's preparation for war? Should future plans and deployment be discussed
publicly? Is secrecy in military planning for any future crisis not vital? Are press interviews of operational commanders by the media necessary? I ask these questions because during and after the Kargil conflict we have gradually gone so media-savvy that a newspaper had organised Defence Week by inviting two recently retired Chiefs of the Army and Air
Force as prime speakers. Yes, their experience of the Kargil operations needs to be shared, but in the melee of questions and answers, vital aspects of future national war plans can be unwittingly exposed with possible disastrous consequences. After all our present Chiefs are executing what their immediate predecessors have planned with some possible variations. Suddenly the public and the media in India have become the power house of defence planning and strategy. A majority of defence analysts writing for various newspapers keep repeating the same stories in different words. Their information is dated to their service days — in other words “outdated”. Access to vital planning and latest doctrine is taboo as it should be. Source of information is, therefore, restricted to newspapers, books, television and hearsay. Why not then restrict ourselves to analysing past wars and lessons learnt? There are, of course, a number of other defence subjects such as the defence budget, modernisation, daily occurrences on the LoC and other current topics not involving operational plans which could be discussed. Yes, like the USA and a few other democracies, we too could encourage research by agencies tasked by the government. Inputs would be treated as secret and outputs meant only for state benefit. I firmly believe that ensuring utmost secrecy of planning for war is a basic tenet. History is replete with examples where surprise was lost leading to disastrous military failures. In this age of mass communications any leak of future plans can nullify brilliant planning and years of hard work. And remember the cliched saying: “There is no runner-up in War”. The writer, a retired Lieut-General, is former Director, General Military Training.
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A POINT OF VIEW The belief that Article 370 invests the people of J&K with special democratic rights is a myth. The fact is that it invests the President of India with absolute and unbridled executive powers and empowers him to suspend for any number of years even those normal democratic rights which are available to the rest of the Indians. Using it, he can deny the people of the state their right to have a popular rule for as long a period as he desires. Just compare the status of the people of J&K with those of any other state of the Union or simply consider the manner in which the Centre can apply Article 356 of the Indian Constitution to any of the states of the Union in general and J&K in particular, and you will see the difference. Article 356 says that no state of the Union can be kept under President’s rule for a period not exceeding one year. The words “one year” were substituted for the original words “six months” by the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976, Sec. 50, from Jan 3, 1977). This Article also lays down that the Indian Constitution has to be amended in case the Centre feels the need to extend President’s rule beyond the period stipulated by the otherwise most abused and misused Article 356. In other words, this Article requires the participation of the people’s representatives from all over the country in the Lok Sabha and the states’ representatives in the Rajya Sabha in the exercise that aims at extending the President rule beyond the stipulated period of one year. Again, it is Parliament which legislates on behalf of the state which is under President’s rule. This also means the participation of the entire nation in the law-making process, with the Governor of the concerned state having no right whatsoever to act on his own or in his discretion. Take, for example, the case of Punjab. The last time the militant-infested Punjab was brought under President’s rule on May 11, 1987. The Central rule continued for almost five years. It was replaced in 1992 by the popularly-elected Congress government under Beant Singh. In between, the Centre had to amend the Indian Constitution for four times. It had also to invoke in 1988 the provisions of Article 352 of the Constitution in order to declare an emergency in Punjab and amend Articles 358 and 359 with a view to keeping it under the President’s rule beyond the period prescribed by Article 356. Articles 358 and 359 provide for the automatic suspension of Article 19 of the Indian Constitution which deals with the rights regarding freedom of speech. This indicates that the Centre has to take the entire nation into confidence if it contemplates an extraordinary action in any of the states of the Union, excluding J&K. As for the hapless J&K, the last time it remained under the Governor’s rule was from January 19 to July 18, 1990, and under the President’s rule from July, 1990 to October 9, 1996 when the Dr Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC), government was installed. Taken together, J&K remained under the Governor’s President rule for six years, eight months and twenty days. However, the Centre did not feel the need during all these years of unpopular rule in the State to take Parliament into confidence or amend any of the provisions of the Indian Constitution. Nor did any political formation ever question the Centre’s undemocratic actions in J&K. The reason: Article 370 under which the President at the behest of the Union Cabinet can issue any number of executive orders and subvert even the basic democratic rights of the people of J&K. Still we have the audacity to say that the people of J&K enjoy a unique position in the constitutional organisation of India. What an irony! The story of gross discrimination against the people of J&K in terms of democratic rights does not end here. It becomes more pathetic when viewed in the context of Section 92 of the J&K Constitution of 1957. (J&K State got the right under Article 370 to have its own Constitution and a flag other than the national tri-colour). J&K is the only state in the Union which can be brought under Governor’s rule for a period not exceeding six months under Section 92 of the State Constitution. When it so happens or when the State Governor dissolves the Assembly or decides to keep it under suspended animation, he assumes the role of a legislature and chief executive. And, whatever he does in that capacity has the force of law. In effect, the Governor during his rule exercises all those powers which the provincial governors used to exercise under Section 93 of the Indian Councils Act of 1935 in British India. In other words, the J&K Constitution, like 1935 Act, empowers the Governor to act in his discretion or exercise his individual judgement and the validity of anything done by him cannot really be questioned. The only authority he is required to take into confidence is the President who would never disappoint him. This is what a peep into the history of the Governor rule in the state suggests. In short, the democratic rights of the people of J&K can be subverted and their sentiments outraged both by the Indian Constitution and the State Constitution, which is the by-products of Article 370. And, it has happened in the state on a couple of occasions in the past. Should it not be construed as a deliberate onslaught on the democratic rights of the people of the state and as an affront to their self-respect? Again, it would be only desirable to mention that the people, the country’s leading opinion-makers and political leaders of all shades of opinion day in and day out express the view that Article 370 prevents the “non-state subjects” from acquiring immovable property anywhere in the state or seeking employment under the state government. Article 370 has nothing to do with these restrictions designed for the “non-state subjects”. It is The State Subject Definition of 1927 which imposed such restrictions on the Indians, excluding the “state subjects”. This law was enacted during the time of Maharaja Hari Singh against the unanimous opposition of the religio-political Muslim leadership in the valley and the initiative for this move came from the Dogra Sadar Sabha of which the state ruler was its patron. This legislation was an answer to the almost 14-year-old demand of the Valley’s Muslim leadership to the effect that “educated Muslims be imported from the adjoining Punjab and elsewhere in India so that they could “man all important official positions” in the state. It is, however, a different story that the comprehensively rigged and all NC J&K Constituent Assembly under the inspiration or dictates of Sheikh Mohd Abdullah incorporated The State Subject Definition of 1927 in the State Constitution. The reasons are not really difficult to fathom. Obviously, Article 370 does not grant any special democratic rights to the people of J&K. On the contrary, it dismissed them as a race unfit for those civil and democratic rights which the Indian Constitution confers on all other Indians. The people of the state do make a point when they repeatedly say that the Centre has all along maltreated them, notwithstanding tens of billions of rupees it has pumped into the state during all these years of so-called independence. One can understand the reasons behind the failure of the Indian political parties to study Article 370 and its implications. But one certainly fails to understand the reasons behind the failure of the state’s premier political formation, the National Conference, to study the negative implications of this most talked about Article and which are many and too glaring to be ignored. The NC would do well to abandon its autonomy plank and demand abrogation of Article 370. This demand is achievable. Any failure on its part to do so and bring the people of the state on a par with the rest of the Indians would simply mean that it is interested only in a sham autonomy. The writer is Professor of History, Jammu University and Member, Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi. |
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The nitty-gritty of how we elect our President THE entire nation knows the next incumbent President. Though elections will be held on July 15, 2002, only a few Indians would know what goes on behind the scenes in a presidential election. The provisions for the elections of the President are contained in the Constitution. Article 54 provides that the President shall be elected by the members of the electoral college. The electoral college shall consist of the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the State Assemblies. The term “State” in Article 54 does not include a Union Territory. However, the Constitution (Seventieth Amendment) Act, 1992 has inserted an explanation at the end of Article 54 to the effect that in this Article and in Article 55, “State” includes the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Pondicherry. It must be noticed that only elected members of Parliament and that of the State Assemblies are members of the electoral college. Therefore, nominated members cannot take part in the election of the President. Article 55 requires that as far as practicable, there shall be maintained uniformity in the scale of representation among the States inter se as well as parity between the states as a whole and the Union. To achieve such uniformity and parity, Article 55 proposes a formula to be adopted at the election of the President for determining the number of votes which each member of the electoral college shall be entitled, to cast. The formula laid down under Article 55 reads: “every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a state shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the state by the total number of elected members of the Assembly.” If, after taking the said multiples of one thousand, the remainder is not less than five hundred, then the votes of each member referred to above, shall be further increased by one. If the remainder were less than 500, it would be ignored. Article 55 further provides that each elected member of either House of Parliament shall have such number of votes as many be obtained by dividing the total number of votes assigned to the members of the State Assemblies by the total number of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament. Fraction exceeding one-half shall be counted as one and other fraction would be disregarded. The bare reading of the above provisions would leave the majority of the citizens, who are not well versed with the nitty-gritty of the constitutional set-up, tearing their hair. The Founding Fathers of our Constitution realised the gravity of the problem and explained the formula, in the Constituent Assembly, by following illustration. Suppose the population of a State is 2,08,49,840, and the total number of elected members of the State Assembly is 208. The number of votes, which every member of the State Assembly is entitled to cast at the election of the President, shall be —
By applying the above formula for each state separately, the total number of votes assigned to all the elected members of the State Assemblies are found. Now, suppose it comes to 74,940. Again, suppose the total number of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, at the time of the election of the President, is 750. Now, as per Article 55, the number of votes that each elected member of either House of Parliament is entitled to cast shall be —
Thus, each elected member of Parliament is entitled to cast 100 votes. Article 55 further provides that the election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Whew! Another heavy dose of linguistics from the framers of the Constitution. Under this system, the voter is entitled to cast his vote in order of preference. He may enjoy as many preferences as there are number of candidates in the election. Secondly, under this system, a quota of valid votes is fixed to be obtained by the candidate to be declared elected. This system can be effectively understood by the following illustration: Suppose, there are five candidates in a presidential election, namely, A, B, C, D and E and the total valid votes cast at the election are 75,000. Quota, to be secured by the candidate to be declared successful, shall be —
Thus , the candidate to be declared elected must obtain at least 37,501 valid votes. The voters are entitled to enjoy five preferences. Suppose, the number of first preference votes secured by the candidates is —A = 25,000, B = 15,000, C = 20,000, D = 10,000, E = 5,000. Since none of the candidate has secured the quota number, i.e. 37, 501, of first preference votes, no one shall be declared elected at this stage. E, getting the least number of first preference votes, shall be eliminated and his 5,000 votes will be distributed among the remaining candidates in accordance with second preferences indicated in the ballot paper. Suppose, it comes to be —
At this stage, also, no candidate can be declared elected as none has got the required quota of votes and D, getting least number of votes will be eliminated. His first preference votes, i.e. 10,000 votes, will be transferred to A, B and C according to second preference indicated on the ballot paper and the votes he got from E, will be transferred to A, B and C in accordance with the third preference indicated on the ballot paper. If, in any ballot paper, second or third preference is not indicated, it will be deemed to be exhausted at that stage. Suppose, 500 votes belonging to D do not mention second preference, these are deemed to be exhausted and the revised position looks like —
Still, no one can be declared elected since none of them have got the requisite quota of votes. At this stage, C, getting the least number of votes will be eliminated. His votes shall be transferred to A and B. C’s votes are of four categories, i.e. 20,000 first preference votes; 500 votes received from E according to second preference, 500 received from D according to second preference and 150 votes received from D according to third preference. C’s original votes shall be distributed according to second preference, second preference votes shall be distributed according to the third preference and third preference votes shall be distributed according to the fourth preference. Now, the revised position is —
B shall be declared elected, though he obtained less number of first preference votes than secured by A. However, if, at a stage only two candidates are left in the fray, the one getting large number of votes shall be declared successful, even if he does not secure the required quota of votes. The voting in the Presidential election shall be by way of a secret ballot. The entire object of adopting this system is to elect the candidate who is found to be more popular among the electors. This system is adopted when there are more than two candidates in the election of the President. This system has ensured that a person not getting a simple majority of votes shall not be elected. The successful candidate shall be the one who obtains an absolute majority.  |
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Of ‘Kalam Iyer’ I have serious reservations about Prof
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as President. His enthusiasm for the nuclear bomb is a major drawback. It shows the mind of a man who is not only apolitical but also plainly amoral. Does he think of missiles and nuclear weapons as playthings with which to amuse himself and the nation? As advisor on defence, he should have given a little thought to the matter. Instead he coins a phrase, ‘Strength respects strength’ as though nuclear bombs give a nation strength. Kalam regards May 11 and 12, 1998 as his ‘crowning achievement’. One of his favourite slogans is, ‘The nation is bigger than the individual’. He might add, ‘The bomb is bigger than the nation’. As one devoted to the Bhagavad Gita, Kalam, no doubt, must be familiar with the description of the divine force: ‘Were the splendour of a thousand suns to shoot forth all at once in the sky that might perchance resemble the splendour of that Mighty One.’ Great scientists like Oppenheimer and Einstein were fascinated by this passage, but it also filled them with awe and fear. For Abdul Kalam, the nuclear weapon seems just another technological achievement. Its human dimension, its social and political consequences seem to have escaped his attention. He is in essence a technocrat who would do any job assigned to him diligently. Almost all the projects he has worked on are of a military nature, his spiritual inclinations notwithstanding. Kalam, himself, has said, ‘I’m not a philosopher. I’m only a man of technology. I spent all my life learning rocketry.’ It’s obvious that the nuclear connection has a lot to do with his choice for Presidentship. In the context of Gujarat, his being a Muslim has helped, too. He is also taken to be an honorary Hindu because he reads the Gita and the Upanishads, is a vegetarian (but eats eggs), and has frugal habits. When he lived in Thiruvananthapuram, he was known to his friends as ‘Kalam Iyer’ because he moved around with the Brahmins and copied their ways. His closeness to various sants across the country, including the Shankaracharya of Kanchi is well-known. The Sangh Parivar has been enthusiastic, thinking of him as a role model for the minorities, the kind of person who fits in well with the RSS philosophy of meekness towards the Hindu majority. His remark to reporters that any time is good for him to file his nomination was taken to signify his rationality and scientific temper. But then what is one to make of this remark of his in an interview with a newspaper? ‘Materialistic things in life don’t matter – whatever happens, happens for our good. One must leave things to the mercy of the Almighty.’ Such fatalism doesn’t behove a true scientist. Scientists are not supposed to leave things to ‘the will of God’. |
Omar Abdullah: sobre & sophisticated politician It is too early to compare Omar to his illustrious grand father but certainly Abdullah-III, even at 32, gives the impression of being a much sober and cleaner politician than his flamboyant father. So much so that even Omar basher accept that, if he gets an opportunity, he might make a better Chief Minister than Farooq and that would also mark an end to the present chaotic rule in J & K. Omar has reportedly said “if it is in my hands, I will love to drown corrupt bureaucrats in the Dal lake. They are the ones responsible for most of the ills that Kashmir faces today”. He has created a good impression during his brief stint in the Commerce ministry and now as Minister of State for External Affairs, he has acquired the reputation of a sharp, intelligent and effective minister. Omar faces the most difficult situation as he leads his party to the battle at the hustings in a few months. Apart from the threat of guns of militants, the Centre and the Election Commission will be keeping a close watch on the polling to ensure that, unlike previous polls, the elections are not rigged. Observers say that even important world leaders would be watching the Kashmir election which may have bearing on the future of the strife-torn state. Even though Omar has many a plus point, he has several handicaps too. Born in the UK and having spent first six years of life in England, he has not lived in Kashmir long enough to become fully conversant with local customs and traditions. His knowledge of the Kashmiri language too is poor and he can hardly converse in the local lingo. Unlike the Sheikh and Farooq, he does not have a feel of the pulse of the people. English is virtually his mother tongue and most of his adult life, he has lived outside Kashmir. So much so that his adversaries jocularly call him “Sonia Gandhi of Kashmir”. According to reports his mother was a nurse and Farooq a qualified doctor. Privileged as the only grandson of Sheikh Abdullah as Omar was, he got education in top institutions. After kindergarten, he was admitted to the reknowned Lawrence School, Sanawar. Having completed his schooling, he moved to Delhi’s prestigious St. Stephen’s College where Rahul Gandhi was his collegemate but he did not stay there for long; he could not withstand the agony of rigging. Moving on to Mumbai, he joined the commerce stream. Life was much peaceful there as young Omar moved in local trains to the horror of his securitymen. He again shifted to England after his college education was complete and stayed there for a few years. Though belonging to the affluent family of Abdullahs, he never squandered money. He said in a recent interview to a national daily that he had never a four-figure balance in his bank during the student days. Before jumping in the hurly-burly of politics, he tried other jobs. There was a time when he worked with Delhi’s Oberoi Hotel. Initially, Farooq was against his son joining politics but later abided by Omar’s wishes. Omar does not like people doubting his “ Kashmirayat” and tells them he might have born in England but stayed in his home state for four months each year. Of course, he got princely treatment at Srinagar, visiting Gulmarg and Sonamarg to ski and to Pahalgam and Dachigam. As Omar gets ready to lead his party in the coming elections, he swears by fair and free poll and does not agree with the charge that the NC had rigged elections. Few buy his assertion that his party believes in securing the mandate of the people through fair means and has never manipulated electoral victories. The young leader, third scion of the Abdullah dynasty, will face the first real challenge in the coming months. |
BJP’s fresh impetus to anti-Congressism The release of Union Home Minister
L. K. Advani’s book — A Prisoner’s Scrap Book — by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee last Wednesday in New Delhi provided the necessary platform to castigate the main Opposition party. Advani disclosed that Vajpayee had been put incharge of the kitchen while lodged in jail. He said Vajpayee was cooking tasty dishes for all his BJP and other political colleagues in prison during the dark days of the emergency. Implied in the observation was that Vajpayee dabbled in his favourite
culinery pastime rather than grappling with ways of defeating the infamous and black emergency. This had obviously touched a raw nerve and when Vajpayee rose to speak he narrated two poems that he penned to buttress his point of being anguished and pained with the turn of events. The poems brought to the fore the goings on in his mind at that time and the need to save the country from the authoritarian and virtual tyrannical grasp of Indira Gandhi. Vajpayee clearly got the better of Advani in the sparring match of political one-upmanship. Najma keeps mum Mr L.K. Advani’s book release function in the national capital. It was a little unnerving for Najma with Advani and Union Defence Minister George Fernandes launching a frontal attack against the late Indira Gandhi for imposing emergency in 1975. Advani affirmed that Indira Gandhi had kept the emergency matter a closely guarded secret. He opined that besides Indira Gandhi, it was the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and her younger son Sanjay Gandhi who had prior knowledge of the country being enveloped in a state of emergency. Najma had little option but to listen to the tirade and keep mum. After all she was a guest at the function. Many Congressmen felt that as Najma could not take the floor in the defence of Indira Gandhi, she should have made a quite exit. Yet others wondered if Najma was trying to convey some message to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Mulayam is Amar Ever since Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav opted for NDA Presidential nominee Dr
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and wrecked the newly floated People’s Front, a raging debate has been going on within the left parties as how were they all, particularly the veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet, were taken for a ride. A senior leader after a lot of analysis solved the puzzle. Fashioning out his comment on the lines of a popular TV serial, the leader said that it is a different Mulayam Singh Yadav now. “Kyonki Mulayam ab Amar hain (because Mulayam is Amar now) “, he told the gathering of the left leaders making them all burst into laughter. Undecided Congress If the Congress is in Opposition, it hardly seems to betray the mindset. The party is apparently in no hurry to put its house in order in its various state units dogged by infighting. Several appointments of PCC chiefs are pending and though it has been a month since PCC chief in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh resigned, no new appointment has been made yet. The Congress denies that there is a crisis of leadership in some of its state units but the impression gaining ground is that the party is not finding suitable candidates. The BJP, in contrast, seems to be in tearing hurry to get back its support base in crucial states. Within a month of its previous UP party chief resigning over poor performance in the state, the BJP appointed a hardliner to the post who also belongs to backward class. The Congress, on the other hand, has not been able to solve its caste equation in UP — undecided whether to appoint a Brahmin, Thakur, Dalit, Backward or Muslim to the post. The Congress is also to appoint new PCC chief in Punjab and decide on leadership in faction-ridden Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Army & LoC With the focus now squarely on the Indo-Pak border and the possibility of de-escalation the army is in a big predicament to what really say about the prevailing situation along the Line of Control. As the political leadership of the country has been going out of the way to appease the US authorities, the army officers here feel that there has been undue haste in declaring that infiltration has gone down. Privately the officers point out that when there was a difference of opinion among the political leadership itself then how would it matter whether the army came out with the true picture. There is a growing feeling within the largest fighting arm of the country that the political leadership in its bid to get accolades from the USA is ignoring the prevailing situation. Shooting off their mouths is how the political statements are being described. However what the predicament really is that neither the army can deny nor confirm the various political statements. As a result, it has sought to maintain a complete silence and stay out of the controversy. But then, is silence always golden? It can at times create more problems than solve them, feel the officers. Political heavyweight Bhairon Singh Shekhawat may or may not become the next Vice-President of India. But the charismatic Rajasthani is currently very busy in the capital and has emerged as the latest troubleshooter of the Prime Minister. On Thursday, he pulled off a political feat which was both sensitive and delicate. He drove to the BJP Headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road to persuade BJP President Jana Krishnamurthy to step down from the party presidentship and join the Union Cabinet. Jana’s resistance broke down after the hour-long closed-door meeting. But what is not sure is whether Jana would actually join the Cabinet or not or whether he would be sulking. Contributed by TRR,
T. V. Lakshminarayan, Satish Misra, Girja Shankar Kaura, Prashant Sood and Rajeev Sharma. |
Tarun Tejpal, a victim of political vendetta A certain unease prevails here. A certain message seems to be getting relayed: don’t dare criticise the government or any of its top brass. Otherwise, there could be checks on your freedom or on your very survival. There couldn’t be a better example of this than that of Tehelka and its CEO Tarun Tejpal. Ever since they exposed corruption in high offices of this government, Tehelka and its staffers have done little editorial work and have been more on the defensive. Today Tehelka’s staff stands reduced to the minimum and Tejpal looks a harassed man. Look at the irony of the situation. Instead of the establishment giving out explanations for the networking and linkages in the various corrupt deals, they have put the portal in the dock, had its premises raided and perhaps seen to it that Tejpal or any of his associates would never again venture to expose corruption and corrupt deals in the establishment. It would be rather futile to write that Time correspondent Alex Perry, who did that detailed profile on the Prime Minister’s health, got away with just a round or two of questioning as he represents Time. Imagine the situation had he been the correspondent of some local publication or journal published in the Middle East. The message seems to be coming through rather clear that keep away from reporting on the health or wealth of who’s who. Otherwise, your own health could be in serious trouble. But journalist Iftikhar Geelani of Kashmir Times, who was arrested last fortnight, didn’t report on either and yet he was arrested. Why? All those official theories doing the rounds of crucial documents in his possession have been proved to be outdated. So the only explanation is that his is a classic case of witch-hunting. Modi unmoved Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi plays the most offensive political games. This week some of the carnage victims were again carted to the capital to recount those frightful episodes. Yet, Modi sits unmoved. Assurances that the camps wouldn’t get shut down seem bogus as camps are getting closed, leaving the inmates high and dry. |
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THERE is no other Article in the Indian Constitution which is so widely misinterpreted than Article 370. All political formations, without any exception, hold the view that this Article accords a very special status to J&K. They, barring the BJP and the Shiv Sena, consistently argue that Article 370 has the potential of fulfilling the legitimate democratic urges and needs of the people of J&K and hence it must be retained and applied in toto.
TWENTY one years back when Sheikh Abdullah anointed his son, Farooq Abdullah, to the post of President of the National Conference (NC), there was peace in the valley but turmoil brewed within Abdullah family. The Sheikh’s son-in-law, G.M. Shah revolted, almost staged a coup, which resulted in the split of the NC. In connivance with the Congress, Shah usurped power in 1984 and headed a short-lived, ramshackle government. When Farooq passed on the baton to his son, Omar Farooq, last week, Kashmir was being ripped apart by militancy but, unlike 1981, there was peace in the Abdullah family; there is no challenge to Omar from within the family and in the NC. The coronation of the third generation of Abdullah dynasty gave the impression as if the NC was a piece of family silver and Kashmir a “jagir”, which was passed on from an aging father to his son.
PUBLIC
memory being short, the BJP leadership sought to give a fresh impetus to anti-Congressism coinciding with the anniversary of the imposition of emergency in the country on June 25, 1995. This also provided a platform to the country’s top leadership to lampoon the late Indira Gandhi for clamping emergency and summarily doing away with the fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution for two years till 1977.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah sat through stoically on Wednesday at