NEW DELHI, Nov 28: The phones were silent and the visitors had stopped. In the twilight of its tenure, the Gujral Government had even lost the illusion of power.The sense of defeat in ministerial corridors has been palpable for several days now. Gujral himself lost no opportunity to remind the nation that he was but Prime Minister for "a few days more". A couplet for every shade of despair, Ghalib said what Gujral could not.Most ministers have been busy clearing out their desks when they have not been locked in lengthy meetings on the political imbroglio. "We want to leave behind a clean house for the next government whenever it comes," said a ministerial aide.Yet, even as it prepared for its impending demise, there was a sense of urgency over the unfinished agenda of the Gujral Government. In an unusual burst of decisiveness, the Cabinet passed a host of far-reaching decisions in the past couple of weeks - setting a time frame for decontrolling petroleum prices, framing a new automobile industry policy, finalising guidelines to open up the infrastructure sector and approving a clutch of foreign investment proposals.The three bills which Gujral had intended to be the showpieces of his report card - the electoral reforms bill, the right to information bill and the Lok Pal bill - were also cleared in a matter of minutes, thereby making it incumbent on the next government to place them before Parliament.For a government which otherwise agonised for months before pushing any decision through first, the core committee, then the steering committee and finally, the Cabinet, this was a surprising feat. And it drew flak from none other than the Lok Sabha Speaker, PA Sangma, who curtly told Gujral in a letter sent yesterday that the "legitimacy" of his Government's decisions were beginning to be questioned by people.The Prime Minister responded by staying away from the meeting Sangma called this morning to try and resolve the deadlock in Parliament. "All the decisions were in the national interest. No-one has a personal agenda here," asserted a Gujral aide.And the UF intends to try and make it stay that way through the caretaker period, if it comes. The instructions are clear - after the fall of the Government, no decisions except those which are necessary and in strict accordance with the Cabinet Secretariat's guidelines for a caretaker Cabinet. No cash-and-carry deals.There are two regrets though - the slowing of the "engagement" with the United States which will be reflected in a postponement of President Clinton's visit next year; and the failure of the Gujral Doctrine to achieve a breakthrough with Pakistan.There is a hidden benefit, however, to being the first Punjabi Prime Minister of the country. Gujral has managed to sew up the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat for himself, getting a commitment from the Akali Dal to support him in the next elections. "Punjab da putra" (son of Punjab) has come home to roost.
