One name for President to silence them all

Unfortunately, votebank politics has started dominating our political ethos, so much so that many of us are willing to ignore even basic political values.

It’s sad that a number of political parties are supporting Dr Kalam not because of his outstanding credentials, but simply because he is a Muslim candidate.

For one thing, the choice for President—or for that matter that of the the Vice President—should not be influenced by petty casteist or religious considerations. Votebank politics should not trivialise Rashtrapati Bhawan.

But the trend is disappointing. For example, when P C Alexander’s name was floated by the Sangh Parivar, the Maharashtra Governor got political backing chiefly because he was a Christian candidate.

It was conveniently ignored that Alexander has been a very able administrator and an excellent orator. There are certain leaders who thought that Alexander’s elevation to Rashtrapati Bhawan would dampen Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s chances of becoming prime minister.

The idea is simply ludicrous. First, there is no provision in the Indian Constitution that bars two persons of the same caste or religion from occupying the country’s top two offices. Secondly, if Sonia Gandhi were to ever become prime minister, she would be elected by the Congress Parliamentary Party which, surely, would not be inhibited by such theories that both Rashtrapati Bhawan and the PMO should not go to Christian candidates.

Take the present President’s case. The Opposition parties approached K R Narayanan with the assumption that fielding him as a presidential candidate would ensure the support of a number of Dalit MPs and MLAs in the ruling camp.

In fact, the NDA almost finalised Maharashtra Governor Alexander’s name until it learnt that Narayanan has decided to consider the Opposition’s request for contesting.

The NDA leaders had to change their strategy and Prime Minister Vajpayee promptly introduced Dr Kalam’s name.

Whose choice anyway?

Ever since Kalam has become the official NDA candidate for the President’s post, a number of leaders are claiming credit for spotting his potential for the top job.

If Home Minister L K Advani is to be believed, it was Minister of State for Railways O. Rajagopal who first suggested Kalam’s name to the BJP. Later, both Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Railways Minister Nitish Kumar came up with the same idea.

Kalam was my neighbour in Asiad Village in New Delhi, and I would regularly meet him during my morning walk. A low profile person, he was liked by the entire neighbourhood for his simplicity. While many, including former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh who’re under no perceptible threat, move about with commando security, Kalam, who has been a prime ISI target for a long time, used to walk around with only one Delhi Police constable until he agreed to accept special security cover at a much later stage.

No more a flight of fancy

Criticised by one and all for its inefficiency, Indian Airlines has been springing quite a few surprises at its Mumbai airport.

On the display board that mentions the flight status, I was recently thrilled to read a single line announcement: All flights on time. Mind you, this is no exception.

In recent times, IA has recorded 98 % punctuality—a commendable feat. The improvement is reflected also in the wide choice of food available on board. Not only can you nibble on good Chinese food, but there’s also two options in the desi category: North Indian and South Indian.

Among non-vegetarian dishes, you have three continental varieties, plus the usual Mughlai variation.

Moreover, you will get health food, a luxury not available in any other domestic airlines. Now that’s how PSUs should respond to healthy competition.