HVK Archives: One step forward
One step forward - Indian Express
Editorial
()
6 June 1996
Title : One step forward
Author : Editorial
Publication : Indian Express
Date : June 6, 1996
THE most heartening feature of the United Front
Government's Common Minimum Programme (CMP) is that it
does not smack of reckless adventurism. This may be a
source of great disappointment to both the UF's
detractors and its more doctrinaire supporters, but the
consensual approach of the CMP has come as a welcome
relief to all those who look upon an experiment in
coalition government with great trepidation. By
jettisoning the pseudo-radicalism of some of its
constituents, especially in matters concerning economic
policy and "social justice", the UF has begun its tenure
in government on a positive and pragmatic note. It has
accommodated the federalist aspirations of the regional
parties and the reformist urges of its foremost
"outside" ally, without necessarily promising the moon.
In addition, the CMP has sought to correct a prevailing
impression that it is guided by a strong anti-business
sentiment. Indeed, apart from the promise to refer the
Ayodhya dispute to the Supreme Court for a binding
verdict and to extend reserva- tions to dalit Christians
which the BJP will find unpalatable, there is almost
nothing in the CMP that either the Govemment and its
allies or the Opposition can really take exception to.
Unfortunately, good intentions do not necessarily lead
to good governance. While the UF has successfully
crossed the first hurdles of government formation and
evolving a CPM without too many hiccups, it will really
be tested on the strength of its day-to-day performance
and the manner in which it can resolve its internal
political tensions. The CMP acknowledges that the
process will not be easy and that "what is important is
the manner in which these differences are aired,
discussed and resolved". If the spirit of give and take
which marked the formulation of the CMP becomes the norm
and is accompanied by the promised "transparency and fair
play", the LIF will gain politically. It will also make
it that much more difficult for the Congress to pull the
rug from under its feet. However, if accommodation and
generosity prove to be teething aberrations, no amount of
lofty proclamations will help. In time,In time the CMP
will be forgotten, compromised or even discarded. What
will endure are impressions of how a partnership of 13
parties worked in practice. India has okayed the
blueprint; now it awaits implementation. Till then,
judgment is reserved.
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