States vs Centre

This trend to demean national institutions is dangerous. If a constitutional organ doesn8217;t respect higher statutory entities, the federal system will face subversive challenges from within. The Manipur Government can certainly take up its case with the Centre but its Assembly can8217;t go to the extent of challenging the Parliament8217;s authority in conferring special powers to the Army in the State. Similarly, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh must accept that any unilateral decision on issues involving other States is not democratic. Amarinder must abide by the Supreme Court decision on SYL, and Mulayam must explain what necessitated his resolution.

While the Centre supercedes the States in such matters and Parliament can always intervene to 8216;8216;correct8217;8217; the Assembly, that is exactly what these Chief Ministers want. They can then play votebank politics, painting the Centre as the villian. For Mulayam, it runs deeper than that. He can obviously embarrass the Congress Government in Uttaranchal, as well as put the UP Congress in a spot. And if New Delhi intervenes, he will milk that by branding any sensible Central move as 8216;8216;pro-Uttaranchal Congress Government8217;8217;. But more than that, the UP resolution will awaken forgotten sentiments and may trigger fresh violence in both the States. Unfortunately, the Samajwadi Party is ready to risk all these for just two Parliamentary constituencies 8212; one of which it represents.

We must rise above such narrow-sighted votebank politics. Or else, State Governments must be made accountable by law. What if Rabri Devi asks for Jamshedpur and other mineral-rich districts back from Jharkhand? So, unless our Chief Ministers are made answerable to the nation, we can never be sure when they will dump the ideals of nationalism and play truant again.

Crime and punishment

I fully support the Prime Minister8217;s statement on the need for a law to determine who is 8216;8216;tainted8217;8217; and who isn8217;t. The nature of the crime and conviction are two important aspects on which we can frame such a law. Otherwise, there will always be room for political vendetta and witch-hunting. If any FIR or warrant makes a politician tainted, then 80 per cent of our leadership can fall under this category.

So, we must know if resurrecting a 30-year-old warrant in a case related to a statehood movement makes one a criminal? Does demolishing a religious place make a case for political or non-political crime? Is demolishing a mosque or church as serious a crime as demolishing a temple? Does accepting cash on camera make one tainted? Most political parties in India accept money from individual ticket aspirants before elections, so what is the position of the warrant against Chandrashekhar Rao?

I am not trying to put make any value judgements. All I want is a set of clear parameters that can dispel any confusion on the matter. We need a mechanism whereby our politicians are made more accountable 8212; those who are tainted quit office forthright and, more importantly, those who pursue cases against others become more serious, less vindictive.

VAT8217;S the way

If the Finance Minister implements Kelkar8217;s recommendations, we will witness the mother of all tax reforms. And indications are that he is seriously considering the proposals. A single, VAT-style tax regime will mean a win-win situation for both the Government 8212; more revenue, less evasion 8212; and the taxpayers 8212; simple, single tax. But its implementation will be a big challenge. A still bigger challenge is the task of winning the trust of the small traders. Let8217;s wish him luck in the drive, which will require his best PR and analytical skills. After all, India can8217;t be the last country in the world to implement VAT.

The writer is a Congress MP