Guilty by consensus
IF popular perception has its way, the post-mortem report of the Australian missionary and his two sons would read: death caused by the hate campaign of the fringe groups in the Sangh Parivar.

Housing sector
EVEN after the abolition of the Urban Land Ceiling Act private builders have shown little interest in the package of incentives for the housing sector.

Deceptive figures
STATISTICS is perhaps the only branch of science which can be used to reach pre-drawn conclusions. Sometimes even when there is no such intention, the results obtained through statistical calculations fail to reflect the situation at the ground level.

Indian Republic’s year
of challenges
by O.P. Sabherwal
REPUBLIC Day, 1999, symbolises a year of Indian pride because of the nuclear tests at Pokhran on May 11 and 13. Pokhran-II was justifiably seen as the triumph of Indian science and technology, a pointer to what India could achieve in the frontiers of knowledge in the modern world.

President out of sync
with the govt
by S. Sahay
AN old man always has a problem in catching up with new words in vogue. And I had to consult the dictionary before using the word sync. Now the word, I find, is an abbreviation of the word synchronisation. An example of its use; the film sound track is out of sync with the picture.

Increasing defiance of
PM’s authority
By P. Raman
UNDOUBTEDLY, THE Vajpayee Government has the distinction of being the one which has suffered the maximum erosion of authority and credibility in such a short period of its existence. The Prime Minister’s lofty ideals and programmes are openly challenged by the more authentic cousins of his own powerful parivar. The defiance of authority is not confined to the realms of reform, cricket or Christian-bashing. More worrisome has been the subversion of the established rule of law by his own partners in the government.

Advani ‘bowled’ by
Pak yorker
UNION Home Minister L.K. Advani was recently yorked by the Pakistan cricket team when he called on them at their hotel in New Delhi soon after its arrival under tight security. Mr Advani, who decided to meet the team as an act of goodwill, did not quite know how to react to the Pakistani team’s request — a visit to Mumbai.

75 Years Ago

Agriculture in Baroda
THE Baroda State Agricultural Department have introduced the use of tractors in many parts of the State, and the use of oil engines for irrigation purposes is gaining in popularity.

Guilty by consensus

IF popular perception has its way, the post-mortem report of the Australian missionary and his two sons would read: death caused by the hate campaign of the fringe groups in the Sangh Parivar. Of course, the VHP, the apex organisation of all Hindutva outfits and itself a militant one, has flatly denied any hand in the murder even while clearing the Bajrang Dal. It says there is no Bajrang Dal unit in the area near the crime. BJP chief Kushabhau Thakre and Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel see an international conspiracy behind the anti-Christian violence. Yet liberal opinion in the country overwhelmingly suspects the Bajrang Dal’s involvement in the campaign of murder and mayhem. Obviously the categorical denial does not have any effect, nor does anyone feel the need to wait till the truth comes out during the official enquiry which the Orissa government has ordered. There are two reasons for the rejection of its stand by the people in general, which the VHP finds irksome. One, right from the days of Guruji Golwalkar, the RSS, the mother organisation of the Hindutva forces, has nursed an anti-Christian streak, but this was not stressed for a variety of reasons. So when an anti-Christian campaign surfaced, many pointed a finger at the parivar. Add to this the VHP’s past militancy, angry speeches, open threats like its determination to build the Ram mandir no matter what the court says, its members brandishing the “trishul” even when going to attend a public meeting, the quality of the leadership of the Bajrang Dal and, finally, the use of violence in demolishing the Babri Masjid. The emerging composite picture is not one of a peace-loving movement operating within the framework of democracy. The people now seem to see the negative side and believe in the worst.

A second factor stems from what the Sangh Parivar has not been doing. It has not condemned past acts of violence by the members of the extended parivar. The latest is the vandalism by the Shiv Sena and the appeasement of Mr Bal Thackeray. Had the BJP moved in as briskly in Gujarat as it has in Orissa to condemn the anti-Christian riots, it would have retained its non-partisan image, and its and the VHP’s explanations would have been heard with attention. Then there are the one-teacher schools in the tribal belt of Orissa which are run by the Adivasi Kalyan Kendra, a member of the Sangh Parivar. One report says the Bajrang Dal is using these schools to whip up an anti-Christian campaign and secure the tribal vote for the BJP, as it did in last year’s Lok Sabha elections. In a manner of speaking, the murder of the missionary has posed a dilemma for the BJP. If the present mood sustains itself, and the President’s strong statement should help in this process, the party will find itself in trouble in the next round of elections. If winning elections is the name of the game of politics, some sacrifice is quite in order. And the BJP’s choice is ready made.

Housing sector

EVEN after the abolition of the Urban Land Ceiling Act private builders have shown little interest in the package of incentives for the housing sector. Six months ago the Urban Development Ministry invited private participation but did not receive a single proposal from the builders. Since the poor response was attributed to flaws in the existing guidelines the ministry has set up a committee for making the package more attractive without the involvement of the private sector the government may not be able to fulfil the promise of 20 lakh houses a year. However, while redrawing the guidelines the ministry should guard against being bullied by the powerful builders’ lobby into making concessions which may compromise the interests of the middle and lower income categories who are part of the “shelter for all” promise of successive governments. It is a catch-22 situation for the government because the public sector has failed to deliver and private builders are simply not interested in taking up new projects because of the mind-boggling increase in the cost of construction materials. The ministry itself has asked the state governments to reduce stamp duty and simplify the registration procedures. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry believes that without the total overhauling of the existing laws governing the construction sector and more fiscal incentives the objective of ensuring “shelter for all” may be difficult to achieve. In what can be termed as budget-eve proposals it has urged the Union Finance Ministry to evolve a three pronged strategy for pulling the construction sector from the current phase of recession.

Of course, the suggestion for 100 per cent tax exemption on interest on loans for house building may not find many takers. The Finance Minister may settle for raising the exemption limit only marginally to humour the middle and low income categories who have been the hardest hit because of escalation in the cost of construction of an average-sized dwelling unit. Assocham has also suggested removal of restrictions for availing exemption from capital gains and deemed export status for real estate developers for boosting foreign exchange earnings. The point on which it may find wider support is the one which suggests a “holistic approach to cater to the housing needs of the poor since there is need for providing integrated housing for all sections of society.” The proposal that housing finance loans should be available at 9 per cent interest rate payable over a period of 20-25 years too deserves to be examined. The chamber has rightly stated that massive investments in housing for the deprived sections of society would have to come from government subsidies while private builders would be obliged to provide cross-subsidisation through housing for the middle and higher income groups.

Deceptive figures

STATISTICS is perhaps the only branch of science which can be used to reach pre-drawn conclusions. Sometimes even when there is no such intention, the results obtained through statistical calculations fail to reflect the situation at the ground level. This often happens in the case of the picture presented by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). The latest WPI figure released for the week ended January 9 showed the lowest rate of inflation (4.43 per cent) since December 13, 1997, when it stood at 4.31 per cent. This should mean a general decline in the prices of the different commodities and goods used by one and all. But that is not the truth. Save for the fall in the prices of vegetables (which happens almost every year at this time because of increased arrivals), there is nothing which the common man uses and which has become cheaper. See the prices of the pulses and other items of everyday use and the reality becomes clear. The downhill movement has been caused mainly by the reduction in the prices of diesel by about Re 1 per litre plus those of a number of other things which have no relation to the state of well-being of the man in the street. Moreover, food items used by the common man constitute only a small part of the huge body of the Wholesale Price Index. If there is any index which reflects the reality to a great extent, it is the Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), and it showed an inflation rate of 19.7 per cent in November, 1998, when the WPI figure was a mere fourth of this. But the tragedy is that in India, contrary to the practice in most of the developed countries, only WPI figures are used as the barometer to determine the price situation. This is so when we all know that it is just not possible for the WPI to correctly measure the price fluctuations at the retail level. One excuse that is generally offered is that in a vast country like India with diverse food habits and liking for goods, there can be no replacement for the WPI. But this cannot be accepted as a convincing argument when there is no dearth of ways and means to obtain the indices which can truly serve as the mirror of the economic health of the people. It is time India decided to use the CPI for the purpose as has been done in most developing countries.

These figures are deceptive in another sense also. Their downward march to a certain level is all right and calls for rejoicing. But if the curve goes down and down, that will mean all is not well with the economy. It is a situation of recession and general sluggishness. The trend must be reversed before it brings unbearable misery to the people. A cursory look at the industrial sector makes one believe that there is no buoyancy in the market. Electronic goods and other industrial products, including cars, have fewer buyers despite their rates having been slashed drastically. This is not a healthy development for a developing economy. So, one must be extra cautious about drawing a picture based on the figures available.

Indian Republic’s year of challenges
by O.P. Sabherwal

REPUBLIC Day, 1999, symbolises a year of Indian pride because of the nuclear tests at Pokhran on May 11 and 13. Pokhran-II was justifiably seen as the triumph of Indian science and technology, a pointer to what India could achieve in the frontiers of knowledge in the modern world.

Yet it would be more appropriate to describe the year gone by as a year of challenges. These challenges remain with us, awaiting to be dealt with in 1999 if the country is not to go under, and is to take its rightful place in the comity of nations. In the arena of international relations, India faced a diversity of challenges, more complex and severe than before. The domestic scene in the outgoing year was characterised by a political metamorphosis, possibly paving the way for transition to a new political setting insofar as parties and alignments go.

One could term 1998 as the year of the rise and fall of the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the year of Congress revival overcoming the gloomy prognosis resulting from a chain of electoral setbacks. Just as the edifice of political parties was changing, so too were their politics and ideologies. Characteristic was that on the eve of Republic Day the dominant issue before the country was of vandals in Shiv Sena garb holding the country to ransom on the alibi of Indo-Pak cricket. The issue really was whether the vandals could get away with it because the BJP’s governments at the Centre and in Gujarat treated this vandalism with kid-gloves.

The key to the country’s overall perspective remains the shape of its political set-up. In this respect, the outgoing year carries its own imprint. India got its first truly non-Congress government in the wake of the March, 1998, Lok Sabha elections in the shape of a multi-party coalition led by the BJP with Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee as its head. It was termed as the first “truly” non-Congress government in the sense that other coalition governments that came during the periods of Congress setbacks continued to carry the stamp of “Congress culture” and ideology and programmes since they were dominated by ex-Congressmen. But the induction of the BJP as the leader of the new coalition government raised the expectations of a new ethos of governmental functioning which the ruling groups failed to deliver.

The BJP-led alliance was a total failure leading to widespread disenchantment. It failed in terms of capability, disciplined functioning and the government delivering the goods as per its promises and programmes. Why was it so? What are the lessons? Because of a mismatch between the challenging demands of modern India in a world of advancing technologies and the hiatus of the RSS-led hardliners who all along acted as a brake on the coalition that Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee headed. Right from the day of government formation Prime Minister Vajpayee could not choose his team freely, with the RSS injunction against Mr Jaswant Singh being the Finance Minister.

The alliance partners were an incongruous lot from day one, and their clashing interests and demands made Mr Vajpayee a prisoner of heterogeneous parties which did not see eye to eye with one another on almost all issues. The government’s performance being incoherent, it failed to deliver the goods in all fields, domestic and international. The biggest achievement of the Vajpayee government — the May nuclear tests — also came under a shadow, thanks to the aftermath. Rather than counter the adverse fallout of the tests at the international level the BJP-led alliance’s ministers — from Defence Minister George Fernandes to Home Minister Advani and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana — were out of tune with the modern world. They did all that was possible to add to India’s isolation in the world at large — from the industrialised world to the Third World nations, from China to the most sensitive neighbour, Pakistan. The government has failed to live up to the challenges which the handling of the crucial defence portfolio demanded. The Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat controversy, whose full story is yet to be told, amply demonstrates this.

It was, however, on Prime Minister Vajpayee’s initiative, though after much damage had been done to India’s image and interests, that moves to counter the adverse fallout of such actions in the wake of the Pokhran tests were seriously and effectively taken. And with worthwhile results. The mending of fences in international relations has since been in the good hands of Mr Jaswant Singh, the Planning Commission’s Deputy Chairman, who has finally been inducted into the Cabinet as Foreign Minister.

Mr Singh stands out in the Vajpayee government among the few competent figures, inducting valuable inputs into India’s foreign policy. Under his charge, the series of Strobe Talbott-Jaswant Singh talks have gone a long way in mending fences with the USA, while Indian interaction with the other major Western countries has reduced the adverse impact of the Pokhran tests considerably. Japan, which was piqued by the nuclear tests, has given indications of its desire to bring back full normalcy into Indo-Japanese economic and political relations. India’s relations with its neighbours, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have been uplifted a stage higher by the vista of tariff walls being removed on. The impact of these salubrious moves is also being felt in the relations with Pakistan, while the Jaswant Singh healing touch is already showing in the domain of India-China relations. With Russia, the close ties being built reached a high point during Prime Minister Primakov’s recent visit to New Delhi. Mr Singh’s notable contribution to foreign policy formulations and inputs has been to point out that in the world of today it is the economic pursuits and demands of technology that require primacy, and so it should be with Indian foreign policy.

The correctives in foreign relations, however, have not been extended to the most vital area of the country’s economic policy. Right from day one, with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s budget in the first half of 1998, economic affairs and fiscal management have been bungled as never before. In the wake of the May nuclear tests, and with sanctions applied, the BJP Finance Minister displayed poor economic capability rather than gear up the country’s strength and patriotic fervour. The slowing down of economic growth received no effective and strong counter-measures. Instead, the reverse was in evidence. Inflation grew alarmingly, prices shot up and the climax came in November, 1998, when onion became the symbol of the BJP government’s poor economic management.

It was during this period that the elections to four state assemblies — three being in the Hindi heartland and considered to be the BJP’s strongholds — were held. In three states — Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh — the BJP has received a drubbing that has no recent parallel. In all these states, the Congress has staged a major comeback adding to the BJP’s crisis. In Rajasthan and Delhi, the BJP has been routed and Congress rule installed while in Madhya Pradesh the Congress ministry has been fortified with further gains.

There are strong indicators of a Congress revival pushing Mrs Sonia Gandhi to the helm. While it is true that the Congress has garnered the gains from the BJP coalition government’s failings, it has also made positive contributions to its rising strength. Mrs Sonia Gandhi has shown acumen in handling organisational matters of the Congress party as well as political sagacity in not trying to pull down the Vajpayee government through manipulations. Its prospects of emerging not only as the largest party but also as a party capable of giving the country a stable government which it badly needs have brightened. At the same time, this strategy has resulted in the Congress getting distanced from smaller centrist outfits — those headed by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav — as also from the Left parties, all of whom are seeking once again to form a Third Front.

The aftermath of the state assembly elections in November has, however, been to accentuate the crisis within the BJP. Relations between the party and its partners in the Sangh Parivar, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in particular, have become strained as never before. The relations of the BJP liberals headed by Mr Vajpayee with the RSS leadership itself have shown fissures. The upshot has been that the hardliners within the Parivar have sought to reinduct fundamentalism once again and mount attacks on the liberal face of Prime Minister Vajpayee’s policies. Lately, these relations have become further strained because of the VHP leaders’ attacks on Christian missionary groups in the name of conversion of Hindu tribals in Gujarat, followed by another fundamentalist group, the Shiv Sena, creating a crisis over the Indo-Pak cricket matches.

In the wake of the recent state assembly elections, the Sangh Parivar hardliners have selected the minuscule Christian minority as their main focus of attacks because they constitute a soft target. Smarting under the humiliating defeats in the elections, the Sangh Parivar also views the anti-Christian card as a good strategy against the Congress, focusing attention on Mrs Sonia Gandhi who is both a Christian and an Italian by birth.

Mr Vajpayee has, unlike in the past, displayed firm adherence to the policies of economic reforms and support for the minorities. But the widening BJP-RSS rift weakens his hands in relation to the other coalition partners. The rift adds to political uncertainty. This Republic Day appears to be a watershed. The new political vista has yet to take shape.

President out of sync with the govt
by S. Sahay

AN old man always has a problem in catching up with new words in vogue. And I had to consult the dictionary before using the word sync. Now the word, I find, is an abbreviation of the word synchronisation. An example of its use; the film sound track is out of sync with the picture.

Yes, this is precisely the word I want to use in order to describe the present relations between South Block and Rashtrapati Bhavan. The latter is out of sync with the former.

The President recorded his views in the file that “while recommending the appointment of Supreme Court judges, it would be in consonant with the constitutional principles and social objectives if the persons belonging to weaker sections of society like SCs and STs, who comprise 25 per cent of the population, and women are given due consideration”. And further: “Eligible persons from (these) categories are available and their under-representation on non-representation would not be justifiable”.

This was construed by the Press, a section of the Bar and other people to mean that the President was wanting a quota for these classes in higher judicial appointments. Worse, a section of the Bar construed it to mean as the President’s chagrin at the non-elevation of two High Court Chief Justices belonging to these castes to the Supreme Court.

Taken aback at the vehemence of public criticism of the President’s noting, Rashtrapati Bhavan sources started a damage-control exercise. They assured one paper that the President did not have any quota in mind for the disadvantaged classes, and that he did not have any particular candidate, in mind.

However, they reserved for another paper to make the point that since tension has been building up between the President and the Vajpayee government a statement of principle has been leaked and presented to the people as a case of judicial activism by the people.

Why this tension? Rashtrapati Bhavan sources, according to the second paper, are at pains to point out that this is because the President has been discharging his duties as the custodian of the Constitution. He had questioned the decision to promulgate an Ordinance on the Patents Bill, bypassing Parliament. He was uncomfortable with the decision to repeal the Land Ceiling Act through an Ordinance. He was less than satisfied with the decision to dismiss Admiral Bhagwat. He had sent back the recommendation on Central rule in Bihar.

Clearly, the President was fully aware of this tension. And hence it was all the more necessary that he should have been extra careful in exercising his right to advise and warn his Council of Ministers. Rashtrapati Bhavan sources have said that the President’s observation in the file was meant for his Council of Ministers, not for the Chief Justice of India.

The argument is specious. The President knows very well that, after the Supreme Court’s opinion tendered to him on the grey areas in the second judges case judgement, the government has no hand whatsoever in judicial appointments. Nor has the President, strictly speaking.

A curious aspect of the present controversy is the posture adopted by the Union Law Minister. He thinks that, after the acceptance of the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion, the Ministry has only to act as a post-office and to pass on such papers as it may receive from the CJI to the President. This really amounts to dereliction of duty; it is the duty of the Law Ministry to ensure that the papers are complete in all respects. In case of doubts, it is the duty of the ministry to seek a clarification from the CJI and include his response in the file. Incidentally, it was the plain duty of the Law Minister to inform the Prime Minister of the President’s noting on the file and explain the implications to him before showing the noting to the CJI. Had this been done, the Prime Minister would have acted as he has done belatedly to sort matters out. The Law Minister did not improve matters by expressing his personal opinion that he preferred weightage for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in higher judicial appointments.

Personally, I think, this is a battle that the President cannot win. In fact, he has a lot to lose, because by the generality of the people he has been accepted as the President of India who has functioned impeccably. He would be reducing himself to the status of a Dalit President if he were to champion a sectarian cause. The Constitution has shown enough concern for the disadvantaged classes, even without the President speaking on constitutional values.

Look at the damage the President’s noting has done to the constitutional fabric. While Rashtrapati Bhavan sources have clarified that the President did not have in mind a quota for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the political parties — in particular the Samajwadi Party, the CPI and, up to a point, even the Congress — have interpreted the Presidential stand to mean a suggestion for a quota and have backed it up.

The demand for it is bound to increase with time. It needs to be emphasised that even Article 335 of the Constitution, which provides for weightage to the claims of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in services, qualifies this provision with the rider “Consistently with efficiency of administration”. The need for it is far greater in specialised services, like the higher judiciary and senior appointments in the defence services. While due consideration must be shown to the reaction of all sections of society, there is no scope for populism in the matter.

After a long time a system has been devised for judicial appointments that is, in the face of it, fairer than in the past. The nine judges of the Supreme Court are a party to the advisory opinion, and the existing system has to work until a better system is devised; for instance, a judicial commission is provided for by law.

Increasing defiance of PM’s authority

By P. Raman

UNDOUBTEDLY, THE Vajpayee Government has the distinction of being the one which has suffered the maximum erosion of authority and credibility in such a short period of its existence. The Prime Minister’s lofty ideals and programmes are openly challenged by the more authentic cousins of his own powerful parivar. The defiance of authority is not confined to the realms of reform, cricket or Christian-bashing. More worrisome has been the subversion of the established rule of law by his own partners in the government.

Such an erosion of authority has serious constitutional implications. A Laloo or Rabri Devi could have been promptly dealt with under the law. But what happens when the Prime Minister’s writ does not run even on his Chief Minister in Gujarat or when its senior partner in Maharashtra turns recalcitrant? The Centre might have found itself in bigger trouble but for the last-minutes success of the peace mission by the Pramod Mahajan-Advani duo. Even this uneasy truce had come about after enough damage had been done to the system. The BCCI headquarters in Bombay was ransacked in broad daylight. But at least for four days the law-breakers went around without the fear of being arrested.

Vajpayee’s present plight could be traced to the very contradictions on which he sought to build his coalition. Sound principles of consultations and consensus were substituted by building a personal equation with a few bosses of allied parties. It did not take time to expose the limitations of such an approach based purely on public relations. It ignores the complexities of the regional politics and dynamics of the forces working at different levels. Ideological or programmatic contradictions always call for patient resolution. In politics, short cuts only tend to heighten crises.

As was predicted in these columns, the sudden spurt in militancy by Hindu supremacist groups has to be seen as the beginning of a backlash of the BJP’s present “soft” line. The ministerialists’ compulsions to suddenly drop the party’s long-cherished ideals for the sake of power are quite understandable. However, the RSS parivar has never really accepted such compromises on issues like Article 370, the common civil code, Ayodhya, the bashing of Bangladeshis and Christians and playing cricket with “enemies”. There has been growing uneasiness in the parivar ranks over such opportunistic deals. Such a militant backlash is inevitable in any institution built on ideology. Like the birth of Naxalism from the Communist movement.

Now the question is who will finally win the present war of nerves within the parivar and with the Shiv Sena. For this, we have to watch developments in the coming months. As of now, it can be safely concluded that the present friction between the traditionalists and the power-crazy within the parivar will have a double effect on the Prime Minister. At one level, his own authority is being firmly challenged from within. At another level, the proposed protracted protests by the various parivar outfits in the coming months will strengthen the process of the creation of anti-government sentiment among different sections on various issues.

After the BJP’s Bangalore session, there has been a perceptible hardening of the position among an influential section of the RSS. They recall with remorse that the BJP, on whom they had counted for using power to spread Hindu nationalism and Swadeshi, had done just the opposite. These very ideals on which the BJP was able to increase its strength, are being sacrificed at the altar of power. According to them, Vajpayee’s laboured moves to transform the BJP into a Congress-type omnibus political outfit by coopting smaller groups and individuals can never succeed. Once the BJP loses its RSS orientation, it will be left with only a few disparate groups. On this premise, they assert that the BJP cannot drift too far from the RSS.

Another interesting theory being propounded in RSS circles has been that the more the BJP leadership strays away from the parent body, the more will its allies feel emboldened to challenge its decisions. There may be an element of truth in their contention that the present increased pressures from the allies on Vajpayee for a bigger share of the power cake has been due to this factor. However, more than this, the kind of open bargaining by the allies for ministerial posts, insistence on specific portfolios and threat to quit if the terms set were not met by the Prime Minister, can be attributed to two other factors.

First, the recent tendency on the part of the Prime Minister to excessively assert his primacy seems to have made the allies more uncomfortable and suspicious. He had made a series of announcements in the past few months without consulting the allies. Some of them came impromptu at seminars and business conferences. More than this, some among the allies feel highly disturbed over the manner in which the Prime Minister was being projected as a super leader without giving due share to the supporting parties. Such aggrandisation apart, it is felt that by announcing schemes after schemes and forming an array of panels, a conscientious effort is being made to push the BJP’s partisan agenda at the expense of others.

Thus the more Atal Behari Vajpayee asserts his prerogatives, the greater the compulsions on the part of the allies to rob him of his powers as Prime Minister. All his attempts to expand his Council of Ministers, which had remained incomplete from the very beginning, failed due to the uncompromising claims by both allies and his own party leaders. In the process, the BJP’s allies have introduced several distortions into the Cabinet system and coalitional practices. In non-BJP coalitions, the Prime Minister held informal talks with the coalition partners on Cabinet formation. The specific names were decided by the respective parties. As a result, even a Deve Gowda or Gujral could accomplish the task rather smoothly than a Prime Minister who is projected as “able”.

Watch how Jayalalitha insists on specific quota for her state and her right to dole it out to the MPs as she likes. Petroleum, she argues, belonged to her state, and she had got it allotted to Ramamurthy. Now it is her, and not the Prime Minister’s prerogative to take it from the present incumbent and give to another person from her state. Mamata Banerjee has stretched it further by claiming specific portfolios like Railways. When persuasive efforts by Vajpayee failed to work on Mamata Banerjee, he tried his luck on Nitish Kumar to get him to magnanimously gift the Railways to the Trinamool Congress. Sadly, all this have forced the beleaguered Prime Minister to finally put off the entire expansion exercise even after formally announcing the date.

The Cabinet expansion was originally aimed at distributing “loaves” among the unhappy adherents. Ironically, instead of pleasing the aspirants it has introduced sharp division in almost every supporting party. An Akali nominee had even declined to accept the offer, apparently due to the intricate internal strife. Samata Party’s problem was not only with the Railways. Abdul Ghafoor had threatened to revolt if his claims were ignored in favour of Digvijay Singh. Mamata, of course, could easily silence Ajit Panja. All this has been in addition to the fretting and fuming within the BJP by powerful claimants.

Amidst all this, Mamata has introduced an entirely new dimension to the crisis. She has sought statewise and partywise quota for the appointment of Governors and promotion of senior civil servants at the Centre. Those close to the establishment had always managed to lobby for such favours. But this is the first time a political party has openly made it a right. The Trinamool leader alleges that she has several complaints of the “neglect” of the interests of the Bengali IAS officers.

She has similar grievances with regard to the appointments of Vice-Chancellors and investigating and intelligence agencies. If Vajpayee could use ministerial and gubernatorial posts to accommodate disgruntled partymen, why is West Bengal being denied the right, she asks. Whatever may be her motives, this sort of a quota system is bound to set dangerous precedents. It will cut at the roots of healthy coalitional practices and introduce distortions into federal concepts.

Second, of the late there has been fears among the allies that the present delicate arrangement is heading for a collapse. In the event of such an eventuality, BJP allies will find it difficult to face the electorate, especially in view of the widely perceived non-performance of the Vajpayee regime. On the one hand, the allies will have to bear the burden of the BJP’s Hindu separatist baggage and the consequent ire of the minorities. Even if there were any positive gains, the Prime Minister’s party will take the credit.

Thus either way, the allies stand to suffer. Insistence on a portfolio and better performance will help the parties carve out an identity for themselves. Added to this has been the fear that each one is becoming a liability to the other. The BJP’s performance in the recent assembly elections has been an eye-opener for allies. It meant association with the BJP has not improved their lot. In the next elections, they will have to fend for themselves in their own states where the BJP either does not enjoy any substantial base or their association would damage their respective votebank.

The present coalition experiment is on the verge of a crucial phase. The problems come from everywhere — between the main ruling party and the minor allies, from within the ruling parivar and among the allies themselves. The Prime Minister’s failure to carry out the Cabinet expansion apart, the Budget session will bring him face to face with so many pending controversial decisions. Tension over the State Reorganisation Bill has been simmering. There is a sharp division within the coalition on crucial legislation like IRA and Patent Bills. The troubles brewing within most allied outfits will further complicate the crisis.

Advani ‘bowled’ by Pak yorker

UNION Home Minister L.K. Advani was recently yorked by the Pakistan cricket team when he called on them at their hotel in New Delhi soon after its arrival under tight security.

Mr Advani, who decided to meet the team as an act of goodwill, did not quite know how to react to the Pakistani team’s request — a visit to Mumbai.

Apparently, the Home Minister had made polite enquiries from the squad if they would like to visit places other than those on the itinerary.

“Yes, if possible, we would like to go to Mumbai”, mumbled one team member.

Interestingly, the team coach, Javed Miandad, extended an invitation to Mr Advani to pay a visit to Karachi, Advani’s hometown before partition.

Whether Mr Advani chooses to accept the invitation or not, it is a reminder of the famous “cricket diplomacy” of the late Gen Zia-ul-Haq when he came to witness the India-Pakistan Test at Jaipur in 1987 at the height of the “eyeball-to-eyeball” confrontation on the border.

A ‘samajwadi’ gone awry

Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav’s recent announcement of launching a countrywide movement to bring about awareness against the ‘’ills’’ in the Congress and the BJP has raised many an eyebrow within the Samajwadi Party.

Talking privately, party workers have been wondering how the “kranti rath” of “netaji”, as Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav is known in party circles, would propagate the party’s line and its ideology when it is equipped with ultra-modern gadgets for luxurious living.

Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav wants to take the rath around the country with the avowed aim of exposing the BJP. The mini bus splashed with the shimmering green and red colours of the party flag, has a luxurious bed and comfortable seats and above all a hydraulic lift to hoist Mr Yadav on to the roof to address the public. To top it the rath would be airconditioned so that the leader does not have to sweat it out while touring the dusty countryside.

Party workers have been wondering how Mr Yadav, who is already known for sporting Dunhill watches and carrying Mont Blanc pens, would propagate “samajwad” travelling in such luxury. Incidentally, Mr Yadav would be launching his “andolan” from Farrukhabad, which was the constituency of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, known to be the champion of samajwad and simple living.

Westward ho, Railways

It is a fare Samata Party leader and Swadeshi proponent, George Fernandes will find it hard to digest. Mr Fernandes apathy for Pepsi and Coke notwithstanding, his party colleague and Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, has decided to dish out a global fare on the menu card of Indian Railways.

The Indian Railways has decided to provide a “videshi” feast to passengers. Idli, vada and sambar will soon be replaced by delicacies from the West. Pizzas, noodles and hamburgers will now form part of the Railways menu on major routes.

The new menu is part of a major revamp the Indian Railways have planned for its onboard catering services to make it more customer focused and quality oriented.

Western culture is not confined to the menu card alone as a comprehensive plan for designing the pantries, base kitchens, packing and presentation of food items is being worked out to bring in a feasible improvement in the catering services.

A Holland-based company, known for its international quality products on packaging material is being roped in for improved packed supply of food on board. Meals will be served on trolleys for the upper classes and specially designed meal carriers in other classes, the same way as it is done on airlines.

Interestingly, while the former Railways Minister Madhavrao Scindia brought about a change in the style of catering by introducing aluminium foil packaging, a decade later the stuff inside will also undergo a change.

What made the ‘Tiger’ retreat?

Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi was conspicuous by his absence at the meeting of the Inter-State Council held here the other day.

There was speculation that Mr Joshi, who belongs to the Shiv Sena, preferred to stay away and send the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Gopinath Munde instead as he wanted to avoid the attack he could have come under for the activities of Shiv Sena vis-a-vis the cricket series with Pakistan.

The Council meeting took place the day after Mr Thackeray was persuaded to withdraw the agitation and hence the heat could have been on had Mr Joshi arrived here.

In fact, there is considerable curiosity on what Mr Advani told Mr Thackeray which prompted him to make a retreat. “Have you threatened to send him to jail’’? a Union Cabinet Minister asked the Home Minister in a lighter vein.

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

75 YEARS AGO

Agriculture in Baroda

THE Baroda State Agricultural Department have introduced the use of tractors in many parts of the State, and the use of oil engines for irrigation purposes is gaining in popularity.

The Agricultural Engineering section of the State is now opening tractor-driving and oil-engine classes to train operators to meet needs of progressive farmers.