North Block8217;s havenot

A fine opportunity is at hand for the new government to correct a dangerous and foolish subversion perpetrated by successive governments. This refers to the systematic emaciation of the once all-powerful Ministry of Home Affairs which, in better days, boasted a Sardar Patel at its helm. That was a long time ago. During Indira Gandhi8217;s tenure, North Block fell upon ill days as her obsessive need to corner power saw its progressive sidelining and divestment. A concomitant was the installation of a series of non-entities who were moreover put in a position where they had no choice but to spar with and intrigue against their own junior colleagues.

Proposing a strong and rejuvenated home ministry may seem like a dangerously centralising idea at a time when unitarianism is passe. It is no such thing. The issue is a sensible allocation of functions within the central government. The home ministry8217;s enfeeblement has empowered only an unaccountable bureaucracy and junior ministers at the expense of senior ones. Avicious circle has followed of feeble ministry getting feeble leaders who perpetuate the ministry8217;s marginalisation. Who can forget the infamous running battles between Rajesh Pilot and S.B. Chavan where the former, as minister of state for internal security, routinely went over his boss8217;s head to the prime minister? The more recent outbursts of Indrajit Gupta against his Home Secretary are legion. Both ministers in fact had good reason to complain. What is the home ministry without charge of internal security, direct oversight of Kashmir, control of the CBI, and supervision of the Intelligence Bureau which, in the absence of direct ministerial control, has become a law unto itself? Yet every one of these has been successively taken out from under North Block8217;s umbrella. The inevitable result has been the aggrandisement of the bureaucratic cabinet secretariat and junior ministers gleefully giving senior colleagues a bloody nose. All of which leaves North Block a mere posting shop for the central para-militaryforces.

The time is opportune for change. Regional tinderboxes, with the notable exception of the northeast, are more stable than at any recent time, and a changeover can be attempted without jeopardising security. In the BJP, the country will have a government which is focused on a strong administration and security. For no other party is the home portfolio quite as crucial. The very first step has to be for the right man to get the job. That the man is the message is only too clear from the anxiousness with which the Finance portfolio has been watched. Lal Krishna Advani is the current favourite to bag the job at Home. Prima facie, he is a wise choice. Far and away the most important minister and party leader aside from the prime minister himself, his presence in North Block would signal the importance of this portfolio, and the ministry will hopefully recoup its lost powers. Partly as a result of Home8217;s eclipse, partly of Congress8217;s deliberate promotion in Finance of unthreatening politicians such asPranab Mukherji and Manmohan Singh, and partly because of the vastly increased focus on the economy, Finance has lately stolen the limelight. That is fine. What is needed is a tough and empowered home ministry in a country whose fragility and tenuous integrity are daily emphasised.