Article of faith — Victims of Article 356 become votaries

From Jaipur comes fresh confirmation of a political irony that can still be seen as a positive development. The one-day conference in the Pink City of the Chief Ministers of States ruled by the BJP either alone or in an alliance (with the exception of Uttar Pradesh) has provided added proof of the increased recognition of the complexity of a constitutional issue over which there had been a non-Congress consensus for years before. The main Opposition party in Parliament has joined the many other parties which have abandoned their militant opposition to Article 356. The constituents of the United Front and its camp-followers needed only the prospect of Central power, whether directly shared or by proxy, to compromise their stance on what they earlier condemned as a draconian threat to democracy and federalism. The Common Minimum Programme of the United Front promised no more than an amendment of the Article to make it more acceptable. The pledge was followed, however, by what were widely seen as additional instances of political abuse of the provision in Gujarat and UP. That such a victim of the UF backtracking as the BJP should soften its stand on it spells a special vindication of the statutory safeguard against situations in States that cannot, in the country’s interests, be allowed to continue. The party’s regionalist partner in Punjab, the Akali Dal, has of course struck a note of strong dissent as voiced in Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal’s reiteration of the demand for a scrapping of the Article. But, this need not lead to a reversal of the BJP’s reappraisal not made, presumably, without a consideration of the political consequences that it will have to cope with.

What all this amounts to is a consensus, actually, on the retention of the Article in the statute book. It is also clear, however, that there is a consensus as well on fresh legislation to prevent any further political misuse of the provision. The Jaipur conference has called for “wide-ranging consultations”, obviously of Central initiation, before strengthening it by the statutory means at Parliament’s disposal. It is to be hoped that the signal is not lost on the Centre. The considerably widened area of agreement should enable the I. K. Gujral Government to move expeditiously towards the introduction and passage of a comprehensive legislation in this regard in the next session of Parliament as promised. It will be missing an opportunity to make a notable contribution to the nation’s constitutional development if it lets itself be deterred by an anxiety not to appear to be complying with the BJP-set deadline for implementation of the Sarkaria Commission report.

The task should not be unduly tough. The Centre has, before it, the outline of the amendments as unanimously worked out by the standing committee of the Inter-State Council earlier this month. Safe passage through Parliament would seem to be assured for the envisaged provisions aimed at freeing presidential proclamations under the Article from the stigma of partisanship. If these are combined with a consensually evolved set of guidelines in relation to the institution of Governorship as well, the country’s long agonising over Article 356 should find an end at last.