Calling Mr Gujral

As the chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Gujral will have his first meeting on June 22 to discuss the crucial question 8212; quot;What now?quot; Gujral is believed to have impressed upon the UN Secretary General the importance of resolving issues within the bilateral framework. Any other way would only accentuatetensions, he reportedly told Annan. This, say some Foreign Office mandarins, helped in the formulation of the Security Council8217;s resolution. It mentions Kashmir after a gap of 27 years but urges both India and Pakistan to resolve the issue by direct talks.

This is the note he struck with Sharif too. The Pakistani prime minister called him soon after he addressed Parliament on June 7. He told Gujral that he did not know the new rulers in Delhi. Gujral is believed to have told him there was no point going over the tests; they were a reality, and with a deterrent held by both, wars now could be ruled out and prospects for peace could improve. India and Pakistan have both had an experience of colonialism, he is believed to have told Sharif. In multilateral discussions, it was invariably the third party which would gain. With direct talks they could understand each other8217;s difficulties and even make concessions which was not possible in front of a third party. In any case, it is not as if a bailiff would be sentto enforce the verdict of the third party, Gujral reportedly told Sharif.

Unlike Rajiv Gandhi who undertook parallel policy initiatives in 1990, Gujral has kept the Prime Minister posted about every development. He reported his conversation with Sharif to A.B. Vajpayee and urged him to pick up the telephone and speak to his Pakistani counterpart who obviously felt diffident about the new government in Delhi. But Vajpayee apparently told him he would think about it and consult his colleagues.

Sonia Gandhi called on Gujral a day after he spoke in Parliament. Worried about the post-Pokharan situation, she endorsed what he had said in Parliament and both reportedly agreed to co-operate. Sharad Pawar, who was slated to speak at the end of the nuclear debate, gave his time to Gujral to respond virtually on behalf of the opposition. Sonia, it seems, was not very happy with the speeches of her own party leaders.

The fact is that Pokharan-II has significantly altered the domestic scenario. The focus of theGovernment and the country has been, and will be, on international issues. And anyone who understands them will naturally have an advantage. No wonder then that Gujral is in the limelight while other former prime ministers are not.

Gujral has had wide experience in foreign affairs, first as India8217;s ambassador in the erstwhile Soviet Union, then as foreign minister under V.P. Singh and H.D. Deve Gowda and finally as prime minister holding the external affairs portfolio. He also has the advantage of being Vajpayee8217;s predecessor, with access to vital information of the recent past.

He swung into action soon after May 11 by urging the Government to sign the CTBT. Unlike P.V. Narasimha Rao, he also happens to be free of the party baggage, even though he belongs to the Janata Dal which has six members in the Lok Sabha. There is no one as experienced in foreign policy matters as Rao. But he has been strangely taciturn. Possibly, he feels constrained by the cases that are still going on against him. Singh is illand undergoing treatment in London. Foreign affairs has never been Gowda8217;s cup of tea and he used to rely totally on Gujral when he was prime minister.

Chandra Shekhar, who is the most unconventional among the former prime ministers, has concentrated his energies more on backing attempts to replace the Vajpayee Government which he feels has landed the country in a dangerous situation. He was the only speaker who opposed the tests up front during the discussion in Parliament.

Gujral may or may not be positioning himself for an important role in the future. It is risky to dismiss politicians in the best of times but this is all the more so when coalition arrangements have become the norm. It is virtually impossible to predict who will bounce back when, though it is unlikely that Sonia will plump for a mukhota mask at the head of a non-BJP alternative.