Joshi146;s job

Ever since Manohar Joshi8217;s name was pulled out of the hat as the National Democratic Alliance8217;s nominee for Speaker of the Lok Sab...

Ever since Manohar Joshi8217;s name was pulled out of the hat as the National Democratic Alliance8217;s nominee for Speaker of the Lok Sabha, there has been some speculation about the signal being sent out.

Was it just personal chemistry with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan that worked in Joshi8217;s favour? Was it, as is also being said, that the other worthies in the final reckoning were less interested in the job? By choosing a candidate from its oldest and ideologically closest ally, isn8217;t the BJP sending out a clear message to an exclusive constituency? Questions such as these, and not just its characteristic contrariness, probably lie behind the Opposition8217;s insistence that Joshi8217;s candidature be seen as merely 8216;uncontested8217;, not 8216;consensual8217;.

Whatever the Opposition8217;s reasons, though, and with due respect to the high constitutional office Joshi is slated to assume, his selection does occasion some unease. The Union minister and Shiv Sena leader does not come to his august office with a clean slate.

Joshi has been infamous as the chief minister of Maharashtra that Bal Thackeray openly remote-controlled. Among other things, the Shiv Sena chief is notorious for having been disenfranchised by the Election Commission for using communally charged rhetoric in his political campaign. The Shiv Sena is known to wear its contempt for democratic norms on its sleeve. Be it burning down cinema halls for showing films the organisation considers a threat to 8216;Hindu culture8217;, or ransacking shops that stock Valentine8217;s Day cards, another perceived threat to that same culture, or burning pitches to prevent an India-Pakistan cricket encounter, the Sena has repeatedly flouted the law, never shirking violence to force its way. It is true it would be unfair to saddle Joshi with the sole accountability for that formidable record. True also that other political parties practice variants of the intolerance the Shiv Sena habitually takes to the extreme.

Finally, as the alliance in government, with a proven majority in the House, isn8217;t it the NDA8217;s prerogative to nominate the Speaker of its choice?

The reason why the disquiet persists is this: the House of the People is the highest forum of the land for conducting debate and enforcing executive accountability. As presiding officer, the Speaker must not only be non-partisan and open to debate, he must also be seen to be so. Having thrived in a political culture that shuns debate when it doesn8217;t actively suppress it, will Joshi be able to live up to the demands of his office? In a polarised House, where the battlelines are etched sharper than ever before, will he invite the trust of all members across the ideological divide? And yes, will the remote control still work?

The Speaker8217;s office is deemed to be above all partisan controversy. It is not considered proper to cast aspersions on the chair. Here8217;s hoping Manohar Joshi lives up to the trust he inherits along with his new post. Joshi must seize the opportunity to prove the sceptics wrong.