Now it8217;s official

President K.R. Narayanan's address to the joint session of Parliament on Wednesday relied heavily on the post-election National Agenda formu...

President K.R. Narayanan8217;s address to the joint session of Parliament on Wednesday relied heavily on the post-election National Agenda formulated by the BJP and its allies. Thus the National Agenda has now become the official agenda of the government. It is a statement of intentions, whose fulfilment may have to wait beyond the completion of the present Lok Sabha8217;s tenure. The President has reiterated what Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee had promised the nation in a televised address the other day that the government would have a consensual approach on solving all national problems.

While the controversy over the election of the Speaker did not exactly uphold the values of consensus, the party position in the Lok Sabha is such that it does not allow the government to have its way except with the cooperation of at least some parties in the Opposition. As alluded to by the President, dialogue, debate and discussion 8212; the three Ds 8212; have become the watchwords of the BJP government. The address provided thegovernment with an opportunity to be more specific on its intentions. By promising a national media policy, whose cornerstone will be a Right to Information Bill, the government has set right a lacuna in the Agenda, which was noticeably silent on the media.

The seriousness of the government in honouring its promise of giving women 33 per cent reservation in Parliament and state Assemblies is reflected in its decision to take up immediately the pending Bill in this regard. If at all there is any doubt about the government8217;s pro-woman bias, it is removed by the plan to set up a separate bank for women entrepreneurs. Besides, women will also be entitled to free education till they reach the graduation stage. Though the President did not spell out how the government proposed to live up to its commitment to give economic liberalisation a swadeshi content, there is no ambiguity now on the sectors in which foreign capital is welcome 8212; physical infrastructure development. Despite the criticism the NationalAgenda evoked over the BJP8217;s intention to appoint a commission to review the Constitution, it persists with its aim. What purpose such a review will serve when the government does not have the requisite parliamentary support to make changes in the Constitution, not to speak of its basic structure, which is inviolable, still remains a mystery.

Though the Gujral doctrine did not figure as such, the intention to continue the policy is reflected when the President spoke about India8217;s solidarity with the rest of Asia. While the promise to bring forward a comprehensive electoral reforms Bill is encouraging, the corrosion of values in politics the President mentioned cannot be attributed to the lack of it. The unethical manner in which splits are caused in political parties and Speaker8217;s powers are misused to lend such splits legal sanctity warrant an attitudinal change, rather than a new legislation. Political parties in the past have spoken against misusing the office of governor for partisan ends but they couldnot resist from doing so the moment they came to power. It is, therefore, with a pinch of salt that the promise to keep the Raj Bhavans free from political intrigues is taken. As a statement of intent, the address is almost fault-free. But then the taste of the pudding is in the eating.