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Journalism of Courage
Rumbles of discontent with the ruling coalition in Maharashtra grow louder by the day. Some of this is the inevitable fallout of the Lok Sabha results which knocked holes in the credibility of the Shiv Sena and the BJP. But if Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray hope to repair the damage, they have evidently been going about it in unproductive ways. The most notable outcome of cabinet changes, involving the intake of nine new members and the removal of three, has not been a rise in government efficiency-levels or the outbreak of peace in political factions. Instead it was the open defiance of the Shiv Sena leadership by former Minister of Forests and Environment Ganesh Naik and his mainly backward class followers.
Refusing to go quietly, Naik compelled both Joshi and the Thackerays, father and son, to take responsibility publicly for dismissing him. The immediate consequence was the defeat of the Shiv Sena candidate for a seat in the Legislative Council. It is the kind ofchallenge to their authority that Sena leaders have not had to face very often. Another cause for complaint is that the Chief Minister thought fit amidst the sackings to award a ministership to a recent Congress rebel. No doubt he labours under severe political compulsions. However, each solution brings new troubles. Sections of the BJP too have begun to grumble.
Fresh law and order concerns have also risen in the wake of a spate of daring gangland killings in Mumbai. It is not insignificant that industry and business leaders felt constrained to speak out on the matter at a recent private meeting with the Chief Minister. The government needs to deal firmly with all lawbreakers without exception. Applying double-standards weakens its own authority. Pushing the blame for its own failures onto human rights activists, as the police chief does, reveals an inability to get to grips with the real problems. In its hour of trial when the government needs to show determination and vision in dealing with the many serious issues confronting the State, it displays little understanding andless skill. If it carries on like this, its own incompetence will be its undoing.
