A case about courts
A low intensity legal war has broken out between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre and it has great potential to develop into a high intensity political skirmish between the DMK and the BJP.

After the lull in Iraq
US President Bill Clinton may go on claiming that “we have achieved our mission” by launching missile strikes on Iraq, but the truth, apparently, is otherwise.

Full term for Lok Sabha
A BIT of self-interest is very much the driving force behind the suggestion of the BJP Member of Parliament, Mr Ganga Charan Rajput, that the Constitution should be amended to ensure that the Lok Sabha enjoys a full five-year term, but the proposal is worth serious consideration.

SURVIVAL IN POLITICAL JUNGLE
by P. H. Vaishnav
“WHEN beggars die, there are no comets seen”, said Caesar’s wife Calpurnia. She would have said the same thing if she had been around to comment on the sudden transfers of the Deputy Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector-General of Patiala.

Reservations unlikely to help women
by Abha Sharma
WHATEVER the fate of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which has thrice been stymied in the Lok Sabha by sheer force of brawn rather brain, I am one of those who have strong reservations about the very idea as such.

Cong needs to adopt balanced approach
THE RATHER brief winter session of Parliament this year has provided ample insight into the working of the present fragile political arrangement. In the midst of daily twists and turns on crucial issues, few seemed bothered about things like “stability” and “ability” of the Vajpayee regime.

Dinner diplomacy with the media
LAST week the Capital witnessed a fresh round of diplomacy. Well it was not on the international front but by seasoned Congress politicians who used the opportunity of the AICC session to engage in this exercise albeit differently — the culinary way.

Stinking rich
by Chetana Vaishnavi
I ALWAYS had the belief that poverty made people to stink, till I found some people who were stinking rich. Each one of them had a rags-to-riches story to tell, whereas my own story is of riches-to-rags and more rags each day. No wonder, the rag-pickers are more active in my region.

75 Years Ago

Alleged fraud on Insurance Company
In the matter of appeals filed by Capt. Cary, Alim and Ramji Bhai against their conviction and sentence by the Additional Judicial Commissioner, Mr Madgavker, the High Court Bench today announced their decision, declaring it a case of failure of justice.

A case about courts

A low intensity legal war has broken out between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre and it has great potential to develop into a high intensity political skirmish between the DMK and the BJP. The dispute right now is about the state’s power to set up special courts to try cases filed by its CID wing and the Centre’s inexplicable change of policy. The two sides will battle it out in the Supreme Court and the ruling will have nationwide application. Like most controversies in that southern state, this one too revolves around Ms Jayalalitha or, to be precise, about a slew of corruption cases. It is her special leave petition before the Supreme Court challenging the setting up of three special courts that has suddenly brought out the conflicting interpretation of the law. Tamil Nadu says it has the authority to establish special courts to speedily try important cases. It advances two arguments in its favour. One, the Centre asks the states to set up such courts whenever the CBI wants to prosecute somebody, thus acknowledging the latter’s powers. Two, central counsel supported the move when the case was first heard by the Madras High Court. Now the Centre has filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court in the Jayalalitha case completely reversing its earlier position and asserting that under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Centre’s prior permission is necessary to convert certain courts into special ones to hear cases under this law. For a lay reader, all this is avoidable legal hair-splitting but for anyone interested in politics it is combustible stuff.

The background to this tussle is as important as what is unfolding in daily doses. First the DMK and now its ally, the Tamil Maanila Congress, have dubbed the latest stand of the Centre a brazen pro-Jayalalitha move. Mr Karunanidhi first asked his party MPs to call on Prime Minister Vajpayee with a request not to file the affidavit. When this failed, he dipped into his reservoir of exaggerations and accused the Centre of inventing powers for itself, bending rules and distorting procedures to bail out a lady whose tainted votes are the oxygen for the present alliance. A retort came fast and sizzling from the PMO and an official added an unofficial sting by pointing out that all this did not behove a man who figured prominently in the Sarkaria Commission report on corruption during the previous DMK government. At around this time the Centre presented the DMK with a new grouse almost on a platter. It transferred the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court to Hyderabad, and it is well to remember that it was he who wrote the judgement dismissing Ms Jayalalitha’s plea to disband the special courts. Mala fide, DMK growled; witch-hunt, the Centre responded. The verbal pyrotechnics may be a diversion, the court battle may be for the pundits, but the special courts are something else. If Tamil Nadu wins this battle, it would mark a giant step towards fighting corruption in public life. If the Central Vigilance Commission succeeds in arming itself with the power to seize assets acquired with kickback funds, the country will have a viable two-pronged weapon against graft.

After the lull in Iraq

US President Bill Clinton may go on claiming that “we have achieved our mission” by launching missile strikes on Iraq, but the truth, apparently, is otherwise. President Saddam Hussein’s position within his country and outside has become stronger. A controversial ruler has been transformed into a hero. This is one clear inference that can be drawn from the pro-Saddam Hussein demonstrations in various Arab cities. One must not lose sight of the truth that it is for the first time that West Asia witnessed the expression of open public sympathy for Iraq, its people and its ruler. Thus the American aim (definitely not the UN aim) of decimating Mr Saddam Hussein is unlikely to be achieved, at least in the way the US leadership had been hoping. Now comes the weapons’ inspection issue. No one can be sure that the American and British military action, in complete disregard of the wishes of the UN Security Council, has destroyed all the nuclear, biological or chemical weapons if Iraq really had, or its facilities to manufacture arms of this nature. If the unilateral airstrikes have made Iraq free from the dreaded weapons, there is no reason why the UN economic sanctions against it should not be withdrawn forthwith. Will the USA and the UK or their supporting nations accept this line of argument? Never. Then what their leaders are saying is meant only for the consumption of the home public.

The felony indulged in by the USA with Britain in tow has complicated the task of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM). Iraq has declared that it will no longer maintain any relationship with UNSCOM. It has lost faith in the impartiality of the UN mission chief Richard Butler, whose hasty decision brought death and destruction to a people already dying of hunger and disease. With Russia too coming out openly against Mr Butler, seeking his immediate resignation, the fate of UNSCOM in its present form is uncertain. Russian anger at the way Mr Butler has been functioning — not as the head of UNSCOM but of some US commission — is pregnant with meaning. If Mr Butler had functioned as he was expected to, the entire scenario would have been different today. The independent and bold stand taken by Russia, China and France (three of the five permanent Security Council members) should serve as a clear signal for the USA that it cannot afford to repeat the mistake it made in the case of Iraq. The consequences could have been more horrifying if the Americans had not found a good pretext in Ramazan (a month of the Islamic calendar when Muslims are supposed to observe fast) to halt the missile campaign against Iraq. Henceforth, Iraq’s leadership may become more defiant of UN opinion if it continues to be treated as if it was not a sovereign nation. How can one expect normal behaviour from a country which is not dealt with in a normal manner? Why should the Iraqi people be punished? It is their business to allow or not to allow a leader to rule over them. No other country, not even the surviving super power, has the right to impose its will on a sovereign people. And if the Iraqis decide to have a new leadership, they should be expected to do so in the manner they find it suitable for them.

Full term for Lok Sabha

A BIT of self-interest is very much the driving force behind the suggestion of the BJP Member of Parliament, Mr Ganga Charan Rajput, that the Constitution should be amended to ensure that the Lok Sabha enjoys a full five-year uninterrupted term irrespective of any change in government, but the proposal is worth serious consideration. Of late, elected Lok Sabhas have tended to tumble like the proverbial ninepins just because the governments could not hold their ground. Such dissolutions are rather unfair to the members who find their term cut short. Moreover, the price that the country had to pay as a whole is staggering. After all, every general election costs hundreds of crores of rupees. This is not taking into account the losses that the nation suffers because of the inevitable stoppage of work. After the experience of the past few years, it has become necessary to have a fresh, dispassionate look at the entire situation. The Constitution was right in suggesting that there should be another election once it had become clear that it would not be possible to form a stable government under the existing situation. The belief was that a fresh election would yield a more clear-cut result. But it has been noticed that what is desired does not always happen. That is what went wrong when the United Front government packed up and the one led by the Bharatiya Janata Party came in. With the decline of a two or three-party system, the electorate has been returning a fractured mandate leading to coalition governments at the Centre. Things have not improved in any way. Nor has stability appeared on the horizon. In fact, the BJP had to gather more parties than it was criticising the I.K.Gujral Government for having. The Constitution has to take note of this unforeseen situation.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, has been non-committal, only saying that he will convey the members’ feelings to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. But it is learnt that there is near-unanimity in various parties on this count. After all, who wants to go to the voter time and again? Electoral fatigue has already set in and mid-term elections make matters worse. Mr Kalpnath Rai of the Samata Party has raised the point that if the Rajya Sabha members who did not have to fight elections could enjoy an uninterrupted term, why should the same courtesy not be extended to the Lok Sabha members? But before bringing about a change in the Constitution, the whole issue will have to be discussed threadbare and various possibilities taken into account. For instance, what will be the minimum conditions to be fulfilled before the election is really considered to be unavoidable? How will the stability of the government be ensured when no party is able to muster even a simple majority? Safeguards will have to be built in so that the parties which have only a handful of MPs or even the Independents do not hold the country to ransom. The responsibility and thereby the involvement of the President will increase manifold. If the full five-year term for the Lok Sabha also means an endless parade of one government after the other, it will be a clear-cut case of the cure proving to be worse than the disease.

SURVIVAL IN POLITICAL JUNGLE
District executives under fire
by P. H. Vaishnav

“WHEN beggars die, there are no comets seen”, said Caesar’s wife Calpurnia. She would have said the same thing if she had been around to comment on the sudden transfers of the Deputy Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector-General of Patiala. When holders of much senior positions in all the services have been made expendable and their positions dwarfed, out-of-season transfers of Mr Vishwajit Khanna or Mr P.M. Dass would ordinarily have called for no special notice. Over the years we have been so inured to frequent and unexplained transfers, in and out of season, that such incidents have ceased to evoke any reaction whether from the public or the politicians or within the affected officers themselves.

The Patiala transfers — which include that of the SDM and the District Transport Officer, besides the DC and the DIG — however, raise certain general questions on account of the circumstances surrounding them. Mr Vishwajit Khanna was appointed Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, by none other than Mr Parksh Singh Badal. It is probable that in keeping with the informal procedures of postings and transfers followed by the political executive, the Chief Minister might have consulted Mr G.S. Tohra, who might have recommended the appointment of Mr Khanna. This may be true also of the appointment of Mr Dass. Thus these postings may have been no more than the result of an institutionalised system.

Mr Badal, who is especially accommodating and fair to those who disagree with him politically, would have followed this procedure. By all accounts, Mr Khanna was functioning outstandingly. So was Mr Dass. Neither of them had got an image of being Tohra loyalists, or controversially involving themselves with the various factions in the district’s politics. Beyond the normal rapport, which a good Deputy Commissioner or a Deputy Inspector-General should be having with the people’s representatives in the district, they were not in any way close to Mr Tohra. In all probability, when the political equation between Mr Badal and Mr Tohra was good, these officers may even have been asked to extend all legitimate consideration and courtesies due to the people now ranged in opposition to the establishment. Therefore, the transfers, which have come about in the wake of a major rift at a high level, with Patiala as the home-ground of Mr Tohra, can only be regarded as political and even uncalled for.

The implication is that it is not these officers against whom Mr Badal had anything, but through their transfer a signal has been sent to Mr Tohra and his followers that the fight extends right down to the officers’ level. Mr Khanna’s sister-in-law, an SDM, has also not been spared, as she is said to be a relative of Mr Tohra. The officers already in the district and those who will now be posted will draw the lesson that Mr Tohra and his men are out of favour and, therefore, before doing even a legitimate thing for them they should think twice so as not to be labelled as being pro-Tohra.

To say this is not to comment on the political side of Mr Tohra’s functioning in relation to Mr Badal. The manner in which Mr Badal had been embarrassed more than once, and dissidence openly expressed would naturally have given the Chief Minister a cause for thinking that his position was sought to be undermined. The issue really is that the “sins” of the politicians need not visit the officers posted in the district of the adversary’s sphere of influence. This is especially so because these officers had been functioning in a context in which the present adversaries were quondam friends.

What does this signify for the health and vigour of the administration? There has already been a progressive enfeeblement of the services at the level of the states since 1967 and the Centre since 1977 following the alternation between the Janata Party and Indira Gandhi’s Congress. In the aftermath of Rajiv Gandhi’s defeat, a fractured consensus had prevailed except for an uneasy stability under Mr Narasimha Rao. However, in those situations, the distinguishing factor was that the government as a whole had changed from one party or coalition to another. In the present case, the administration has been affected not because of a change in the regime but because of the internal politics of the same regime.

This trend has been there for quite some time now in Punjab. We have seen how an officer like Mr TKA Nair was first called in to be the Chief Secretary and later on unceremoniously and gracelessly shifted by the same Chief Minister. The Chief Minister did not even wait for Mr Nair’s posting orders in the Government of India to arrive. For a day, he was thus transferred as Financial Commissioner.

Even statutory appointments have not escaped partisan political treatment. Not only officers of the executive side but also retired judges have been given this kind of treatment. Retired Chief Justice S.S. Sodhi, who was Punjab’s first Lok Pal, a statutory institution found one morning that this body had been abolished with a change in the Chief Ministership from within the Congress. The whole purpose of a statutory body is to protect it against changing political power structures. When this principle is not respected, the statutory body loses its raison d’etre. Already Captain Amarinder Singh has started alleging that the present incumbent of the Lok Pal is Mr Badal’s man.

It would be no exaggeration to say that 80 per cent of the government’s non-performance is because of this irrational and no-holds-barred politicisation of the administration. In this process the officers known for their impartiality and integrity become victims of political vendetta just because they happen to be around in certain positions. Ironically, the politically aligned civil servants do not suffer. They have shown remarkable resilience in switching loyalties and making themselves useful to all regimes. This class of government officers is wanted by all regimes. It is the non-aligned class that finds itself in cross-fires.

The Khanna and Dass case portends that in future as the political system degenerates into a system of alliances and enmities, the officers without god-fathers will be going from post to post without a pillar to hang on to. They would be lucky if it remains at that. For, we have seen that in the absence of a consensus among political parties to keep away from the politicisation of the services, the government itself ceases to be a continuum. It becomes a succession of regimes, each successor regime going into a wholesale review of the predecessor regime and administrative reshuffle. In the process, public servants first become the instruments of decision-making by the predecessor regime only to become witnesses against them on behalf of their successors.

A commission of enquiry, an easy recourse to the CBI and the state’s vigilance machinery, thus results in the administrative process diverting its attention to police investigation and judicial consideration to the great impairment of the administration and the political process which suffer beyond recovery.

What is most worrisome in the context of Punjab politics today is that even with the massive mandate enjoyed by the Badal ministry, the government responds to political developments showing a knee-jerk reaction. Mr Tohra is nowhere compared to Mr Badal as regards their political following. But should one conclude that people around Mr Badal are thinking not in terms of any threat to the Chief Minister’s position of which there need be no apprehension — but are drawing up a perspective plan for the safety of their interests in a post-Badal scenario instead of combating Mr Tohra on the political plane by mobilising public opinion?

In contrast, one cannot but recall Mr Surjit Singh Barnala’s quite self-assurance in dealing with the civil services. He was functioning in a context that was far less easy than what it is for Mr Badal today. He came to power in the wake of Operation Bluestar after a spell of President’s rule when the political class was embittered and viewed the bureaucracy as having a vested interest in Governor’s rule. There were political pressures from within to order a big reshuffle in sheer assertion and demonstration of the fact that a new government had assumed office. However, he showed that he had the capacity to withstand these pressures, and told his Chief Secretary to convey to the Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police that he had no plans to shift them, and that they should concentrate their attention to their work without distraction. Not one Deputy Commissioner was changed. Even after Mr Badal defected with 27 MLAs this change did not affect civil service officers in the least.

Unfortunately, political leaders do not realise that leaving the civil services alone is to their collective good, and its return in terms of performance and loyalty is high. It is too much to expect from them that they would read history. But the way the national leadership had engaged itself in the task of building post-Independence India, thereby winning the loyalty of the bureaucracy inherited from the British, should inject some sense into today’s politicians. If not for anything worthwhile, at least to make use of their leisure time, they should leaf through India’s administrative history immediately after Independence. Meanwhile, let us hope that the civil servants in all the departments of the government will maintain their morale no matter how difficult the going is.

(The author is a retired IAS officer and thinker.)

Reservations unlikely to help women
by Abha Sharma

WHATEVER the fate of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which has thrice been stymied in the Lok Sabha by sheer force of brawn rather brain, I am one of those who have strong reservations about the very idea as such. No legislature in the world provides for it. None of the representative groups or organisations of women ever made an issue of it. If truth be told, the need for legislative reservations for women has never been seriously felt by the aware and the enlightened of the lot. It was, however, talked about as a mere talking point, may be for certain politically correct reasons. The debate, if any, on the subject remained confined to cosy drawing rooms and gossip clubs.

And rightly so. Have the reservations of any hue or in any walk of life ever served their declared purpose, or achieved the objectives set out 51 years ago? Rather, they have accentuated distortions. Benefits of caste-based reservations have been cornered by a minuscule minority, and the vast majority has been left high and dry. Now the haves among them discriminate against the have-nots and use every stratagem to continue to unduly benefit from the policy of reservations for all time to come, to the detriment of their less fortunate cousins. A class within a caste group has thus emerged!

That merit became a casualty in the process appeared to be nobody’s business.

Reservations are essentially divisive. Instead of smoothening the edges, they have sharpened them. Social and societal divisions have deepened with a progressively increasing proportion of caste-based reservations. Consciously or unconsciously, the beneficiary caste groups perceived themselves as pitted against one another when it came to sharing the national cake. Ironically enough, the Other Backward Classes (OBC), came a new addition to the pantheon of castes. And a post-Independence one at that! And they wish to put one more, “strijati” (caste woman), on the national caste-map!

Reservations are retrograde in more ways than one. Rooting for reservations for women in the legislatures in the 52nd year of Independence would be, to my mind, an utterly regressive step. Rather, we should be thinking of progressively doing away with the crutches of reservations in other areas while resisting the temptation of asking for more or for a longer period. Our “mantra” should be merit and merit alone which knows no caste, class, gender, religion, region, etc. Or else we will end up creating class within class, caste within caste, state within state and so on. What could be worse than pleading for reservations within reservations?

Given the national average of female literacy, their socio-economic condition and social attitudes towards women, coupled with the brand of electoral politics practised in this country, the reservation for women in the legislatures may prove to be counter-productive. Those entrusted with the business of law-making are expected to be intellectually equipped, among others. That most of them are not is no reason to add to their numbers. Reservations for women may bring anything but their emancipation or empowerment.

Increasing criminalisation of politics portends ill for the women in politics. Women politicians in general have not distinguished themselves in advancing the cause of women inside or outside Parliament. They too allow the ebb and flow of electoral politics to carry them with the flock.

The author is a keen student of women’s issues.

by P. Raman
Cong needs to adopt balanced approach

THE RATHER brief winter session of Parliament this year has provided ample insight into the working of the present fragile political arrangement. In the midst of daily twists and turns on crucial issues, few seemed bothered about things like “stability” and “ability” of the Vajpayee regime. The only anxiety has been where the terminator gene remains concealed and when it will begin activate itself. For this reason, all eyes remained concentrated on the moves by committed RSS MPs and the pulls and pressures working around Sonia Gandhi.

These two parallel processes will invariably decide the fate of the next Budget session. The real worry for the Congress should not be over the rather transient issue of when to topple the already wobbling Vajpayee Government. Now that it has achieved a massive popular endorsement, it is time for the Congress to set its own house in order, to continue with its own reform and structural adjustments. However, even the post-poll deliberations of the AICC, the party’s supreme body, have turned out to be more ceremonial rather than serious introspection.

The winter session itself showed up traces of the prevailing confusion and the tendency for brinkmanship by its leaders to outwit one another. The worst case has been the subtle moves by a few globalisers within the party to enter into a deal with the BJP dominant leadership to rush through the highly controversial patents Bill in Parliament. Curiously, this was done not in the name of Congress policies but under the pretext of heightening the policy conflicts within the ruling party. The globalisers — Pranab Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh and some party apparatchiks aspiring for cushy World Bank posts — later explained that the debate on the bill would force the committed RSS members to rise in revolt against the Vajpayee team and this would speed up the disintegration of the regime.

Instead, the brinkmanship only exposed the sharp division within its ranks. An influential section in the Congress feels that this has been a clear of collusion between the globalisers of the two parties. This section alleges that the reformwalas in their own enthusiasm had simply walked into the BJP trap. The BJP wanted to put the entire blame for pushing all unpopular legislation at the doorstep of Sonia Gandhi and turn it an effective tool against the Congress in the next elections. A similar policy tussle preceded the introduction of the insurance Bill with the reformwalas virulently canvassing instant support to the Vajpayee Government.

All this also highlights both the absence of the clear policy frame in harmony with the political strategy of the Congress and the very chinks in its decision-making mechanism. True, no coterie has yet emerged around the party boss to impose its decisions. She has been strenuously trying to evolve a system of wider consultations with party leaders before arriving at decisions on crucial issues, even if it is prone to be misconstrued as indecisiveness. This has enabled the Congress to adopt a consistent stand on several issues, including its approach to the minorities and the decision not to engineer defections to topple the present government.

However, it is devoid of similar coherence in action and pronouncement on a number of issues. On the one hand, Sonia Gandhi herself had assiduously tried to build bridges with other serious Opposition groups like the Left and RLM. But the party has avoided making any move to pursue it in Parliament Apparently, some in the party fear that any kind of coordination with such parties would inhibit its ambition of resting its own majority in the Lok Sabha in the next elections. The Congress is yet to grapple with many such complicated issues.

Historically, the Congress could retain its domineering position only as a party that represented the country in its full diversity. The party had badly suffered whenever it had deviated from this pluralistic path and tried to shun its left-of-centre image. The latter image has particular relevance in a country with one-thirds of its population still living below the poverty line. Indira Gandhi’s success in achieving massive majority.

Except in the post-Emergency elections could be attributed to her ability in combining both. In fact, political pluralism and welfare of the weaker sections have been two sides of the coin. Whenever this balance got upset for short-term gains, the Congress had suffered serious reverses.

Both Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao should share the blame for subverting, this process for their own inhibitions and compulsions. Rajiv Gandhi had initially followed his mother’s policy but began gradually drifting as he regained more and more self-confidence in statecraft. At a later stage, those around him influenced his thinking to such an extent that his last election manifesto had virtually heralded the beginning of a new kind of elitist economic approach. Simultaneously, the same elitist world view had begun alienating the Congress from its traditional supporters like the dalits minorities and the weaker sections.

Narasimha Rao has been quick to complete the process which his predecessor had initiated. He performed the two feats almost simultaneously. He dragged the Congress away from its pluralistic path by betraying the faith of the minorities and Dalits. Unlike Rajiv Gandhi, Rao’s move was not due to elitism. For him, it was a political strategy to retain the vast Hindu support which he erroneously thought was drifting away towards the Ayodhya-driven BJP. From this was born Rao’s ‘soft Hindutva’, which ultimately led to the minorities leaving the Congress. It took years of confidence building by Sitaram Kesri and Sonia Gandhi to restore this lost loyalty at least in areas where any viable third political party does not exist.

Narasimha Rao resorted to a reversal of the economic policy under compulsive conditionalities. Initially, the media build-up was such that no one even dared to doubt the wisdom of such sweeping changes. For a time, even the Left blinked under the glare of the massive hype. Vision of cheap Gadgets at the Hong Kong rates and cushy jobs in foreign firms took the middle classes to dizzy heights. Labour was told that the removal of licences would lead to springing up of factories in every town. Harshad Mehta’s manipulations were taken by Manmohan Singh as a manifestation of the stocks upsurge emerging from his reform “miracles”.

This is in any way not to judge the impact of the reform. Neither is it to seek its rejection. It is only to emphasise the point that every serious political party will have to realise the difference between the politics and economics of reform. Excessive media hype and delusion had caught the ruling parties unawares in most countries where it had been imposed. Some had to bow out under the weight of scandals and others due to people’s frustration. When the much-touted percolation theory fails to work and the gulf between elite beneficiaries and those at the bottom widens, it is bound to have serious electoral repercussions in democracies.

It did not take long for Narasimha Rao to feel the reform backlash. After crushing defeats in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka elections, he tried to “humanise” it by his own ‘revamped’ public distribution system and mid-day meals for children, something on which the TDP encashed politically. But none of this worked as by the time it had already earned a bad name — at least for the large deprived sections who constituted a solid vote base. Since then Rao was never pardoned of his “sin”.

Unfortunately, there have been no reliable study into the relationship between the economic backlash and defeat of the ruling parties that had mindlessly championed the reform. The outcome of elections is decided by various factors. Pedestrian guesswork or opinionated predictions can hardly take us anywhere. Until recently, we were led to believe that emotional issues, and not economic hardship, can be an effective election plank in developing countries. This is on the premise that the people in the developing world have been so used to shortages and starvation. The recent elections have proved it to be a misplaced notion.

Did the onion symbolise the economic hardship as neem and haldi represented the subordination of national interests? Often crowd responses at election rallies had repeatedly indicated the common man’s frustration with reform as represented by high prices and loss of jobs. The man on the street seemed to believe that all his hardship was due to “loot” by the foreigners. Such an impression had set in much before the elections. The BJP, like the Rao Congress earlier, had become the target of the people’s ire. Is it due to the RSS propaganda or the Left campaign? Or the sheer rustic wisdom of the Indian voter? It is time for every serious political party to go into this aspect of popular reaction.

The Congress, which has already disowned some of the old baggage, will have to adopt a balanced approach. This does not mean total repudiation of the reform package. Instead, the party will have to be seen itself as safeguarding the national interests and attending to the needs of the weaker sections. The continuing RSS campaign, irrespective of the BJP government’s stand, will make such a policy more paying for the Congress. In case the party opts an elitist programme, it will keep the field wide open for the third front which it is desperately trying to eliminate.

The entire revival strategy of the Congress hinges on the success of what it calls the Sonia charisma. But going by her performance in the previous elections, she is yet to emerge as a crowdpuller. Indira Gandhi could strike a common chord with the crowds through her image as a champion of the weaker sections. This is going to be another compulsion for the Congress for adopting a balanced approach to the reform.

Dinner diplomacy with the media

LAST week the Capital witnessed a fresh round of diplomacy. Well it was not on the international front but by seasoned Congress politicians who used the opportunity of the AICC session to engage in this exercise albeit differently — the culinary way.

There was a grand dinner organised by the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr N Janardhan Reddy, popularly known as “NJR” in his home state. The official reason was housewarming. The event drew large attendance. Apart from almost the top brass of Congress MPs, even NJR’s political opponents, from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) turned up in large numbers.

The Speaker, Mr G M C Balayogi, also from the TDP graced the occasion but the man who stole the show initially was the affable Mr P M Sayeed, set to become Deputy Speaker.

Then there were a series of dinners by MPs from Maharashtra, with the Leader of Opposition, Mr Sharad Pawar, taking the lead. Others who followed were Mr Gurudas Kamat and Mr Praful Patel.

Not to be outdone, the Madhya Pradesh leaders also hosted similar parties. One was by Mr Madhavrao Scindia while another was by former Union Minister Kamal Nath, a lunch that was attended among others by the M P Chief Minister, Mr Digvijay Singh.

Of course, there was also a luncheon with a difference. That is the ‘Kisan lunch’, hosted annually by Mr Rajesh Pilot exclusively for journalists.

The event is a great hit with hardened scribes who are invariably treated to seasonal “saag” and “subzi” with plenty of “gur” and “makhan” to go with it. The salad and variety of rotis — “bajra”, “makka” and “missi” is spread on the well-maintained lawns of Mr Pilot’s residence, where typical hut and cots complete the rural ambience.

Perhaps the underlying reason is to test the saying: “The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”.

Ex-CMs under one roof

The occasion was the lunch hosted by Mr Kamal Nath. Among the state leaders who were present were former Chief Ministers, Mr Shyama Charan Shukla, Mr Motilal Vora and Mr Arjun Singh.

Soon after the arrival of Mr Digvijay Singh, the photographers present started clicking away. At one point of time, the former CMs were all seated on a sofa, when Mr Digvijay Singh went and stood behind them for the benefit of photographers.

Just then the host, Mr Kamal Nath, drew Mr Digvijay Singh alongside prompting the assembled remark: “So here we have three past Chief Ministers, one present and one future (Mr Nath)”, to which a leader quipped : “No he (Mr Nath) is kingmaker.”

Advani’s ‘filmi’ taste

Several years ago, a politician of a nascent party used to perform the role of being a film critic for its mouthpiece. As time passed, both the party and the leader grew to become what is now the Bharatiya Janata Party (successor of then Jana Sangh) and Mr L K Advani respectively.

That the interest in films has not ended was disclosed by Mr Advani recently to a group of reporters who were accompanying him on an official trip.

Although it is no longer possible to visit cinema halls, the Home Minister said of late he was deeply impressed by two films he saw over video. One was a film on AIDS and another on medical malpractices.

Drawn into conversation, the Home Minister discussed both the latest books and films with the scribes. When asked for his views on “Fire”, which has been subject matter of discussion these days, Mr Advani wondered why films could not be made on issues like the one on AIDS and perhaps, the handicapped.

In fact, Mr Advani reminisced that way back in the late fifties both he and Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, went to watch a Raj Kapoor film “Phir Subah Hogi” in downtown Paharganj theatre to relax after hectic party work. One wonders if both of them can do an encore now ? Incidentally, “Phir Subah Hogi” had a left-oriented script. Though Rightists by persuasion, perhaps the realism of the Left gave solace to young Advani and Vajpayee.

Symbiotic existence

The media, referred to as the Fourth Estate, and politicians enjoy a unique place in a democratic setups. Yet the hazards of it cannot be lost at occasions as seen in the Lok Sabha recently.

In the midst of debates and discussions, some MPs have the habit of looking towards the press gallery which runs parallel to the seat above the Speaker’s rostrum.

However, one such act recently drew adverse remarks from the Speaker, Mr G M C Balayogi, when Congress spokesman Ajit Jogi, started looking up several times towards the gallery. Distracted as he was, Mr Balayogi asked Mr Jogi what was there and why he was frequently doing so. The Speaker’s observation was not limited to Mr Jogi but also pointed towards Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Madan Lal Khurana who, too, engages in similar act.

Perhaps the Speaker was not only distracted by this act of the members but also amused by a request by the minister that day to advance the time of the reply by the Home Minister to a debate on the minorities. The reason was that the time originally fixed was late in the evening which would not make it to newspapers. After all what is said in the House has to reach the people and what better way than through the media.

Handling delay — IA style

Travel by air these days is no more the fastest way to commute to far off places, Delhiites are realising. With fog descending on the Capital during the last few days, flight disruptions have become a routine affair.

As if the delay was not enough, a novel method employed by Indian Airlines, the state-owned carrier, to beat the delay has compounded the misery of the regular flier. For instance, last Friday passengers were told by the IA that their flight was being delayed by a couple of hours due to foggy conditions. As promised the delay lasted only a couple of hours and the passengers were ushered into the aircraft after the necessary security checks.

But there was a catch. Once inside the aircraft the passengers realised that the aircraft was nowhere ready for takeoff. With so many aircraft lined up, it took nearly three to four hours for a plane to take off. So instead of having to wait in the airport, the travellers were held up on board. As for the status at the enquiry booth, the aircraft was late by only two hours.

(Contributed by T V Lakshminarayan, K V Prasad and P N Andley).

Stinking rich
by Chetana Vaishnavi

I ALWAYS had the belief that poverty made people to stink, till I found some people who were stinking rich. Each one of them had a rags-to-riches story to tell, whereas my own story is of riches-to-rags and more rags each day. No wonder, the rag-pickers are more active in my region.

As a kid, Richie Rich comics were my favourite ones and I always wondered where money came from. “It grows on trees!” said dad, and I believed him. Secretly I planted a few coins in our garden and watered them daily. Some money-plants did grow in its vicinity and I dreamt of harvesting a lot of money. But what would I do with all the money?

I am the worrying kind, and I always worried about what I would do when I became rich. My humanitarian frame of mind gave me a vision of utopia. Probably, I’d look after the sick and ailing; probably, I’d look after old people in their evening years. I dreamt of being a philanthropist.

So, everytime I saved some money I bought a sob story and parted with my savings, comforting myself that it was for a good cause. However, when on a few occasions I read in the newspapers about beggars dying with big bank accounts, I understood my folly. I realised then that human beings too could shed crocodile tears and that my sympathy was misplaced.

But human nature is what it is. There is a constant conflict between the heart and the head. However, a little bit of diplomacy keeps both of them happy. So, when I have money to buy a sob story I listen to my heart, and when my pocket is empty I listen to my head.

These days I have to listen more to my head because of my hand-to-mouth existence, thanks to the ever-soaring prices of essential commodities. “Cut your coat according to your size”, is understandable of course. But so far I could not cut a coat of my size because my size has never remained the same. So I have to make do without a coat. Every winter I promise myself one, only to postpone it for the next.

Richness is a state of mind. Some people feel rich with a few bucks in their pockets, whereas others do not feel so even with crores of them. Like the “Babus of Nayanjore” in Tagore’s story, one does every bit to exhibit the lost glory even during lean times. And that is exactly what I am doing these days.

My worries about striking it rich are over, because my birth-chart indicates that I will never ever accumulate wealth. In other words, I shall never ever stink or, say, stink rich.

That gives me a s(t)inking feeling!

75 YEARS AGO
Alleged fraud on Insurance Company

In the matter of appeals filed by Capt. Cary, Alim and Ramji Bhai against their conviction and sentence by the Additional Judicial Commissioner, Mr Madgavker, the High Court Bench today announced their decision, declaring it a case of failure of justice.

As regards further procedure, two of the appellants, for considerations of health, wished for a hearing of the appeals on their merits in preference to the case being remanded for retrial, Capt. Cary’s counsel declaring his client to be in the last stage of heart trouble.

Their Honours, therefore, ordered hearing of the appeals and finished with Alim for whom it was contended that he had blindly followed Capt Cary in ordering the sale of practically undamaged goods, being there in guilty of negligence or carelessness, but certainly not of fraud. The hearing continues.