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Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma's decision to admit the BJP-sponsored
motion to recall Uttar Pradesh governor Romesh Bhandari for his
disagreement with Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta's assessment
of the law and order situation in the state adds a new twist to the
on-going tug of war. Mr Sangma's observation that the treasury
benches have not been speaking in one voice on the issue is, to say
the least, an understatement. The motion will put on test the
government of Mr H D Deve Gowda, which is deeply divided on how to
deal with a governor who has transgressed his constitutional
position by publicly joining issue with the home minister. Far
from uniting the United Front coalition such a test may well
sharpen the divisions that have already come to the fore with every
constituent of the ruling formation and the Congress taking
positions dictated more by expedience than by norms of propriety.
Ever since Mr Gupta remarked that UP was heading towards "anarchy,
chaos and destruction" he has not only been isolated by other
partners in the coalition, but targeted to a point where he is at
odds with the Prime Minister and the defence minister. Both Mr
Gowda and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav have come to the rescue of Mr
Bhandari against their own cabinet colleague, with Mr Gowda
categorically ruling our the removal of Mr Bhandari. Despite the
general view that Mr Bhandari's conduct should not be condoned,
partisan interests have dictated every party to assume a
self-serving line. The Congress has no love lost for Mr Bhandari
but has decided to oppose any move to censure, shift or remove him
because it does not want to be seen as being on the same side as
the BJP for fear of losing its 'secularist' fig leaf.
The projection of a secularist-communalist divide where the issue
does not admit of such perceptions is, indeed, perverse. Mr Deve
Gowda has not helped matters by distancing himself from the
assessment of his home minister. The home ministry is the clearing
house of intelligence reports on the situation prevalent in a
state, and the assessments of the home ministry is all that the
government has as a basis to act upon. That Mr Gowda chose to
ignore the home minister in the matter and bat for Mr Bhandari
suggests that he too wants to wear a "secularist" cap in a game
where it is wholly uncalled for. The Samajwadi Party of Mr Mulayam
Singh Yadav, more interested in scoring over the BJP than in
upholding the correctness of its position, has firmly rooted for Mr
Bhandari and gone on the offensive against Mr Gupta. The CPM,
which is usually the loudest on 'issues', has been strangely silent
at the humiliation of a 'comrade'. The DMK and Telugu Desam Party
suddenly seem to have become tongue-tied, and their characteristic
zeal on issues of federalism and "governors being Centre's agents"
is conspicuously missing. The underlying logic for such cynicism
is said to be, firstly, aversion to be on the same wavelength as
the BJP; and secondly, an overriding urge to save the UF in the
event of a vote on the BJP's motion. It is ironic that the UF,
described by finance minister P Chidambaram as the country's "first
genuine coalition", should be hostage to a governor of Mr
Bhandari's to the point of Mr Gowda all but disowning his home
minister.
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