06-17-2007, 12:50 AM
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--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Prezing for a dummy
Swapan Dasgupta
I must shamefully confess to being in solidarity with those members of the non-voting classes who, in their naiveté, imagined that President APJ Abdul Kalam would be given a second term on the strength of SMS campaigns. I didn't actually participate in these slightly dubious exercises to swell the coffers of media organisations but I always entertained a profound fondness for the long-haired eccentric who enhanced the dignity of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
As a keen observer of politics, what attracted me to President Kalam was his constant willingness to play with a straight bat. Throughout his tenure, there were many ticklish issues that came up before him. These ranged from exercising his Constitutional prerogatives to putting his signature on Constitutional appointments. On all occasions - barring, perhaps, the imposition of President's Rule in Bihar last year - he played strictly by the book. It is not that he disregarded the advice of the Union Cabinet - he is Constitutionally mandated to follow its guidance on most matters - but it was made clear to the political class that Rashtrapati Bhavan would not bend the rules to favour the ruling dispensation. It was his reputation as an impartial upholder of the Constitution that acted as a deterrent to attempts to subvert India's fragile institutions.
Sonia Gandhi's dramatic resignation from Parliament last year was, for example, a pre-emptive move to avoid disqualification under the Office of Profit rules. Had there been an obliging rubber-stamp in Rashtrapati Bhavan, the UPA Government would have rushed through a highly dubious ordinance. Likewise, it is well known that President Kalam made many Ministers sweat it out with demands for details and clarifications before approving some less-than-wholesome appointments.
What distinguished him from his predecessor was that while President KR Narayanan's awkwardness was based on political preferences, President Kalam's was centred on ethical norms. It was the fear of how President Kalam would react, rather than him actually asserting his independence, that made politicians uncomfortable. His reputation of being "non-political" was based on the fact that he didn't believe it was his job to be sympathetic to the political compulsions of the Government. Kalam was not an activist in the same way as Giani Zail Singh and Narayanan were. His conception of the presidency was deeply conservative.
The sense of propriety that Kalam brought to Rashtrapati Bhavan stemmed from two factors. First, he did not owe his professional achievements in the scientific establishment to politicians. Second, he approached political disputes from the perspective of an outsider. He was not burdened by spurious labels of polarisations. He couldn't be reduced to a convenient stereotype. Finally, Kalam had a large public appeal - in all walks of life, particularly among children - which was totally independent of politics. It was this popularity that gave him a shield against reckless political pressure. Politicians instinctively knew that in any dispute involving the Government and Rashtrapati Bhavan, public sympathy would decisively be with Kalam. He was not someone they could afford to mess with - and so he had to go.
It is this wariness which explains why the more manipulative sections of the ruling coalition, particularly the Left and Sonia loyalists, couldn't countenance either Kalam or someone blessed with the same level of integrity. That is why they kept harping on the importance of having a "politician" as President. But, it was not a case of finding a person with a distinguished and unblemished record in public life. Throughout these past weeks, Sonia has never concealed her preference for loyalty to the dynasty and malleability. She wanted another Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed who signed the declaration of Emergency in 1975 without batting an eyelid. This naturally ruled out Pranab Mukherjee who had walked out on Rajiv in the mid-1980s.
The post-facto tokenism (the "first" woman was the sixth choice of the Congress) surrounding the selection of Pratibha Patil cannot take away from the fact that Sonia wants a dummy occupying the posts of both President and Prime Minister. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is the last remaining obstacle.
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Prezing for a dummy Swapan Dasgupta
I must shamefully confess to being in solidarity with those members of the non-voting classes who, in their naiveté, imagined that President APJ Abdul Kalam would be given a second term on the strength of SMS campaigns. I didn't actually participate in these slightly dubious exercises to swell the coffers of media organisations but I always entertained a profound fondness for the long-haired eccentric who enhanced the dignity of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
As a keen observer of politics, what attracted me to President Kalam was his constant willingness to play with a straight bat. Throughout his tenure, there were many ticklish issues that came up before him. These ranged from exercising his Constitutional prerogatives to putting his signature on Constitutional appointments. On all occasions - barring, perhaps, the imposition of President's Rule in Bihar last year - he played strictly by the book. It is not that he disregarded the advice of the Union Cabinet - he is Constitutionally mandated to follow its guidance on most matters - but it was made clear to the political class that Rashtrapati Bhavan would not bend the rules to favour the ruling dispensation. It was his reputation as an impartial upholder of the Constitution that acted as a deterrent to attempts to subvert India's fragile institutions.
Sonia Gandhi's dramatic resignation from Parliament last year was, for example, a pre-emptive move to avoid disqualification under the Office of Profit rules. Had there been an obliging rubber-stamp in Rashtrapati Bhavan, the UPA Government would have rushed through a highly dubious ordinance. Likewise, it is well known that President Kalam made many Ministers sweat it out with demands for details and clarifications before approving some less-than-wholesome appointments.
What distinguished him from his predecessor was that while President KR Narayanan's awkwardness was based on political preferences, President Kalam's was centred on ethical norms. It was the fear of how President Kalam would react, rather than him actually asserting his independence, that made politicians uncomfortable. His reputation of being "non-political" was based on the fact that he didn't believe it was his job to be sympathetic to the political compulsions of the Government. Kalam was not an activist in the same way as Giani Zail Singh and Narayanan were. His conception of the presidency was deeply conservative.
The sense of propriety that Kalam brought to Rashtrapati Bhavan stemmed from two factors. First, he did not owe his professional achievements in the scientific establishment to politicians. Second, he approached political disputes from the perspective of an outsider. He was not burdened by spurious labels of polarisations. He couldn't be reduced to a convenient stereotype. Finally, Kalam had a large public appeal - in all walks of life, particularly among children - which was totally independent of politics. It was this popularity that gave him a shield against reckless political pressure. Politicians instinctively knew that in any dispute involving the Government and Rashtrapati Bhavan, public sympathy would decisively be with Kalam. He was not someone they could afford to mess with - and so he had to go.
It is this wariness which explains why the more manipulative sections of the ruling coalition, particularly the Left and Sonia loyalists, couldn't countenance either Kalam or someone blessed with the same level of integrity. That is why they kept harping on the importance of having a "politician" as President. But, it was not a case of finding a person with a distinguished and unblemished record in public life. Throughout these past weeks, Sonia has never concealed her preference for loyalty to the dynasty and malleability. She wanted another Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed who signed the declaration of Emergency in 1975 without batting an eyelid. This naturally ruled out Pranab Mukherjee who had walked out on Rajiv in the mid-1980s.
The post-facto tokenism (the "first" woman was the sixth choice of the Congress) surrounding the selection of Pratibha Patil cannot take away from the fact that Sonia wants a dummy occupying the posts of both President and Prime Minister. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is the last remaining obstacle.