HVK Archives: A fit case for dismissal - Maharashtra and Bihar
A fit case for dismissal - Maharashtra and Bihar - The Indian Express
Kuldip Nayar
()
21 July 1997
Title: A fit case for dismissal - Maharashtra and Bihar
Author: Kuldip Nayar
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: July 21, 1997
I have not been able to comprehend the argument of Shiv Sena Chief Bal
Thackeray and the BJP's Jaswant Singh that the Maharashtra Government
should not be asked to quit until Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav
was ousted. What is the connection? Both deserve to be dismissed, the
first on the grounds of communalism and the second on corruption.
The defence of the Shiv Sena and the BJP that Bihar is worse than
Maharashtra is like a criminal saying that the man living next door has
committed more murders than he has.
Thackeray's reasoning does not come as a surprise. He wears his bias
against the Muslims and the Dalits on his sleeves. He may at times
rationalise his stand but does not hide it. Jaswant Singh, claiming to
follow a value system, makes a poor case. It is jarring to hear him say
that his party's coalition in Maharashtra is better than Laloo's
Government. What he is trying to convey is that it is less blood-tainted.
There are better-run governments in the country. It is strange that of all
the States Jaswant Singh should pickup Bihar, a specimen of worst
governance, for comparison. Political or legal quibbling does not wash off
crime or blood. But then this is what happens to persons and parties when
they cease to differentiate between right and wrong, moral and immoral.
Lack of sensitivity tells only part of Maharashtra's or, for that matter,
Bihar's dismal story. Worse is the contamination of police. The force in
both States is caste-oriented. In Maharashtra, it is communal as well.
The upper castes bear the brunt in Bihar and the Muslims and the Dalits in
Maharashtra. To all intents and purposes, the force is an instrument in
the hands of the two chief ministers -in Maharashtra Bal Thackeray is the
unconstitutional boss - who use it in the manner it suits their personal
and political ends.
Otherwise, it is not understandable why the police in Maharashtra should
have fired at the Dalits. Home Minister Indrajit Gupta, after his visit to
Mumbai, has said that the firing was heavy, indiscriminate and uncalled
for. He has also pointed out that but for the police none has defended the
firing. Bihar is, however, a kettle of different fish. There is hardly
any difference between Laloo's partymen and the police force. They
interchange the roles all the time.
The contamination of police on the one hand and its readiness to carry out
highhanded and arbitrary actions on the other have made the States biased
and brutal. This should surprise nobody. It has become a set pattern.
Bihar and Maharashtra are probably the worst examples. But nearly all the
26 States have got affected, some less, some more.
It is not news any more that money can change a First Information Report
(FIR). Most wanted criminals escape arrest by sharing the booty on a
regular basis. A than a (police station) is on sale depending on the
extent of black marketing and illegal trafficking in its jurisdictional area.
What is news is that some chief ministers are involved in the misdoings of
the force. And policemen tend to side with the rioters of their caste or
community to intimidate or even kill people on the opposite side. The
backward communities shun the force made up of upper castes. Muslims or
Sikhs all over the country prefer the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
because it is not tagged to local chauvinism or politics.
The protectors of law and order have become disrupters. The police and
politicians have begun to be on the same side and they do not take any
action when it is due. They look like moving in a half-hearted manner
because they are part and parcel of the same system. The rules are there
and no further legislation is necessary. Laxity is in taking strong and
impartial action. It is time something is done to remedy this.
A study on the working of police has revealed that wayward appointments and
whimsical transfers have demoralised the force. This has also given the
Chief Ministers a clout. Policemen have come to believe that they are at
the mercy of the party in power. Had the tenure of police officers been
assured and had there been a selection of right people for the right job,
the forces would have acted independently. The situation can still be
retrieved.
The Dharam Vira Commission in 1979 made some recommendations to effect
reforms in the police. It concentrated on releasing appointments and
transfers from the hands of the government. Its suggestion was to appoint
a council of members, including the Chief Minister, the opposition leader
and the State Chief Justice, to select police officers for different posts.
All of them were to be given a minimum tenure of three years.
Indira Gandhi put the report on the. shelf because the commission was
constituted by the Janata Government. The V. P. Singh Government only
tinkered with the recommendations. The Gujral Government should appoint a
committee of top policemen to process and update the report. The
recommendations thus made should be implemented straightaway.
If state governments cannot be removed under Article 356, how do you oust
corrupt or palpably communal chief ministers? The Inter-State Council must
find an answer. There has to be a straight direction. It cannot be as the
Communists say that Laloo Yadav should be ousted but not dismissed. How?
He has already managed to have a vote of confidence in the State Assembly.
The Prime Minister did well in sending first Railway Minister Paswan and
then the Home Minister to Maharashtra. The situation got defused. But how
do you punish a government which deliberately foments violence with the
help of the party cadre and which sees to it that even the non-contaminated
police force does not intervene? This is really a breakdown of the
Constitution, which should invite the application of Article 356. Laloo
Yadav's Government should also have been dealt with in the same manner
because corruption in Bihar does not make any legal functioning in the
State possible.
The Constitution framers were conscious of such situations. There was a
serious discussion on dismissal on "moral grounds" just as on "the
prevention of any grave menace to the peace and tranquillity of the
province." What is going on in Bihar and what happens in Maharashtra off
and on are adequate reasons for the dismissal of governments in both the
States. Let there be fresh polls and let the people once again get an
opportunity to elect new rulers.
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