HVK Archives: The better tamasha - Farce stands in for governance
The better tamasha - Farce stands in for governance - The Indian Express
T. V. R. Shenoy
()
19 July 1997
Title: The better tamasha - Farce stands in for governance
Author: T. V. R. Shenoy
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: July 19, 1997
"History," Atal Behari Vajpayee said (mischievously quoting the guardian
deity of communism), "repeats itself - first as tragedy, then as farce!" He
was reacting to the spectacle of I. K. Gujral taking over from H. D. Deve
Gowda.
Sound travels at 1,088 feet per second. But its speed evidently diminishes
when travelling through the peasoup fog of Indian politics. Because it has
taken over two months to hear the echo of Vajpayee's voice from Chennai.
"People expect the Government of India to display dignity, efficiency, and
self-confidence in its functioning, even if it is only for one day," M.
Karunanidhi mourned, "It is easy to convert the government and the rulers
into a joke or a circus, but people won't forgive such acts."
Purists may argue whether a "circus" qualifies as a "farce". Obey need
look no farther than Patna. Laloo Prasad Yadav's roadshow is a farce of
government by any definition!
Of course, any thoughtful citizen is bound to agree with the Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister's analysis that the United Front is on a "suicidal" course.
But I must say that the DMK chiefs intervention is ill-timed twice over.
First, it was always obvious that any government resting on the Congress's
"support from outside" could display neither "dignity" nor "efficiency",
leave alone "confidence". But Karunanidhi thought otherwise in the summer
of 1996. "There cannot" he proclaimed, "be 136 betrayers." (Perhaps Kesri
was emboldened by having 142 MPs!)
Second, the proximate cause of the outburst on July 14, 1997, was the one
and only Laloo Prasad Yadav and his ramshackle Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Championing the hero of the fodder seam is a weird decision, however you
look at it.
There are rumours that Karunanidhi is toeing the Congress line on the Laloo
affair. These are only strengthened by the DMK attacks on Deve Gowda and
the Left Front - the heart and the brain of the anti-Congress movement in
the UF. Remove them, and the rest will fall into Chacha Kesri's embrace.
As I see it, this isn't true. Karunanidhi is following the dictates of the
distant V. P. Singh, Yadav's 'mentor'. It is Moopanar who is truly
interested in coordinating efforts with Kesri. But the objectives of both
coincide when it comes to the RJD, which inevitably leads to conflict with
the Left.
Though the schism may begin over the RJD, it won't end there. In the next
month there will be a host of issues to divide the Left Front and the
Congress. Which way will the regional parties swing?
Ale first of these issues is the continuance of Laloo Prasad Yadav. Kesri
wisely ducked the issue of whether or not the three RJD ministers should
continue in the Gujral Ministry. But the Congress chief will definitely
want to be consulted if there is any question of forcing Yadav to quit.
"I won't lose any sleep if his government is dismissed," was the tart
comment of the CPI's Bardhan. It will be a little ridiculous for a
Congressman to mouth pious platitudes on the abuse of Article 356. But
Kesri is sure to strike a chord in the DMK by doing so.
The second issue is corruption in general. Comrade Surjeet puts it
succinctly: "We cannot face the people if we don't tackle this issue
seriously." (Mind you, this was after Karunanidhi's outburst.)
But can the Gujral Ministry last if the CBI is given its head on Bofors?
Does anybody believe the Enforcement Directorate shall be permitted to
probe the alleged links between Sitaram Kesri and the Jains? And whatever
happened to the Rs 24 crore penalty imposed upon the Congress for tax evasion?
The Communists want those "witch-hunts" tackled on a war-footing, a recipe
for bringing down the ministry. But the UF's regional components are
remarkably silent. Can anyone remember the last time the DMK expressed an
opinion?
Of course, it will be possible to delay any progress into Bofors
indefinitely unless the courts intervene. But there is an immediate bone
of contention between the Communists and the Congress in the shape of the
vice-presidential poll.
The Congress has advanced the interesting thesis that it "deserves" to name
both the President and the Vice-President, since it has "surrendered" the
Union Council of Ministers to the United Front. This finds no takers in
the Communist ranks. I am not surprised. Joining hands to elect a
non-controversial K. R. Narayanan is one thing. But putting a Congress
worker in the chair that Narayanan vacates is another issue altogether
(especially with names like Pranab Mukherjee floating around!).
The non-Left portions of the UF simply haven't bothered to think so far
ahead. But if the DMK argues the case for throwing a sop to the Congress,
the. UF shall have crossed yet another milestone in its eventual destruction.
Finally, there are several crucial decisions to be made by the Central
Government. The oil-pool account deficit is rising every day, yet the
Gujral Ministry has been unable to reach a decision on it. Nobody knows
whether or not there is any policy on civil aviation, or broadcasting, or
granting autonomy to select public-sector undertakings. And so it goes...
The DMK has definite views on the progress and the extent of economic
liberalisation. Unfortunately, all of them run counter to the previously
stated positions of the Left. The battering taken by the stock-market when
it heard that Industry Minister Maran could leave effectively demonstrated
that. I am certain Sitaram Kesri will try his best to drive in the wedges.
The bottomline is that the various shreds that make up the patchwork called
the United Front were always unnatural partners. And none more so perhaps
than the CPI(M) and the DMK. How many people remember today that the
CPI(M) supported a breakaway group from the DMK as late as the 1996 general
election?
Under the circumstances, I am a little surprised at Karunanidhi's aggrieved
tone. What is the point of complaining that some constituents are pursuing
"their own minimum programmes" by forming a "coterie"? When wasn't this
happening?
Fulfilling the people's mandate, Karunanidhi ruefully concludes, is not a
"tamasha" but a "serious matter". I agree, but I do have a question for the
Chief Minister. Which will be the bigger "tamasha" - continuing with the
farcical Gujral ministry or permitting a backdoor entry to the Congress?
Wouldn't it be best to seek another mandate from the people?
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