HVK Archives: Gujral: From graceful swan to ugly duckling
Gujral: From graceful swan to ugly duckling - The Observer
E Jayakrishnan
()
30 July 1997
Title: Gujral: From graceful swan to ugly duckling
Author: E Jayakrishnan
Publication: The Observer
Date: July 30, 1997
The image of Prime Minister I K Gujral in the eyes of the Left has
travelled a fun circle, from being perceived as a "progressive individual"
and an "intellectual," moments after he took oath on April, to a "man
without a backbone" and "fulfilling the Congress agenda" at present.
Immediately after the United Front decided to replace Mr. H D Deve Gowda
with Mr Gujral, under pressure from the Congress in April 1997, the latter
was described by the Left as a "good choice."
Several senior Left functionaries then held that "Mr Gujral has been one of
us (he was a member of the student's wing of the undivided Communist Party
of India in his youth), and is an intellectual with a progressive outlook."
"Moreover," they added, "he has the best track record amongst all ministers
in the Gowda Government."
In fact, Tamil Maanila Congress supremo G K Moopanar was denied the Prime
Minister's post, largely on the Left's intervention, because a leader form
the North was touted as having more "stake" in opposing the Bharatiya
Janata Party.
Thus, though Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was the Left's First
choice, it saw nothing wrong with the consensus choice.
However, that seems to have been, a thing of the past - A senior CPM
politburo member told The Observer of Business and Politics last Sunday
that the way Mr Gujral was going about his task, "it seems that the only
preoccupation he has is to save his own chair. He has progressively
diluted the agenda of the UF to suit the Congress designs, especially on
corruption."
"We can lend him support, but we can't supply him a backbone," the CPM said.
The politburo member pointed out that the Prime Minister's "motives have
been extremely suspect" on corruption cases involving the Congress leaders.
The delay in filing of appeal in the Supreme Court in the hawala case,
interference in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into the
Ashok Jain case, in which Congress president Sitaram Kesri is allegedly
involved, and the unceremonious shifting of CBI director Joginder Singh
when he was in the midst of supervising the investigation of important
cases are, in the Left's view, "proof enough."
Moreover, Mr Gujral's failure to issue a call for Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav's
resignation for a full month after his prosecution was sanctioned by the
Governor was something the Left, considering the need for a "demarcation,"
could not take lying down.
Adding insult to injury, Mr Gujral was perceived as being instrumental in
getting other regional.. leaders of the Front to issue a plea to Mr Laloo
Yadav last Saturday to let the three Rashtriya Janata Dal minister's stay
on in the Government.
Monday's press statement by Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet that in his view
Prime Minister Gujral 'is an experienced person holding progressive views"
does not give a true picture of the Left's feelings on the matter.
A perusal of an article written by Mr Surjeet in the Party organ, People's
Democracy, on July 13 belies the general secretary's certificate of clean
conduct to Mr Gujral.
In a front page article on the crisis in the Janata Dal, under the
sub-title, 'PM's unfortunate stand and actions,' he has lambasted Mr Gujral
for "underplaying" the investigations into the corruption issue.
"It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister, who was Projected as a man with
a clean image, has sought to underplay the issue of corruption," it stated.
"While he did speak of the fight against corruption and advocated morality
in public life, suddenly a change seems to have come about with the
chargesheeting of Laloo Yadav," he wrote.
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