Ten days that shook the system

It is curious that public anger was directed more against the Congress for what is being seen as a subversion of the popular mandate in Jhar...

It is curious that public anger was directed more against the Congress for what is being seen as a subversion of the popular mandate in Jharkhand than against the BJP, even though there were reports of crores of rupees having been spent on winning over independents, of MLAs being spirited away in choppers, of a cloak-and-dagger operation to smuggle them out of the state, keeping them 8220;safe8221; in Rajasthan to the extent of following them to the toilet, of armed men guarding them.

The Congress charge of BJP8217;s intimidation of MLAs and use of unfair means became a secondary issue. Instead, Syed Sibtey Razi8217;s invitation to Soren to form a government kicked up a storm. The governor went neither by the norm of inviting the single largest pre-poll alliance nor the single largest party, nor by the head count which he agreed to have in the Raj Bhavan. He even declared before cameras that arithmetic was not important. The last straw was his decision to give Soren three weeks to prove his majority.

Coming as it did after Goa, it set off alarm bells about the resurgence of a vintage Congress 8212; which the Opposition has been quick to identify with the Emergency. Goa Governor S.C. Jamir had also given Pratap Rane a month to prove his majority, when he had allowed Manohar Parrikar only two days8217; time. It might have been quits in Goa had the governor not invited Pratapsing Rane overnight to form the government after dismissing the Parrikar government, and gone in for President8217;s Rule instead 8212; something he did later.

Neither Jharkhand nor Goa should be viewed in isolation. The reaction to the way the Congress handled both crises was also a cumulative one. After all, it was only the other day that the CBI had decided not to pursue the Taj corridor case against potential ally, Mayawati; to drop the case against Satish Sharma; to defreeze an account of Ottavio Quattrochi and slow things down against Laloo Prasad Yadav in the fodder case. Last week the chickens came home to roost as the party bore the brunt of a build up that has been taking place 8212; that it is using the state and constitutional machinery to undemocratically push its political agenda.

Suddenly fears were fuelled that the 8220;old rotten core8221; of the Congress was asserting again and subduing the newer, more open, coalitional face of the party which had adapted itself to new political realities, gone in for alliances, encouraged new blood and was beginning to break new ground, be it a new deal for tribals, an employment guarantee scheme or a freedom of information law. The political damage to the Congress8217;s image is evident, particularly among the middle class, and neither Sonia Gandhi nor Manmohan Singh have emerged unscathed. The BJP8217;s demoralised ranks are suddenly upbeat and have found an issue to flog.

The whole affair sets new and worrying precedents. The delicate constitutional balance of the political structure has been disturbed. The UPA tried to defuse the confrontation that was building up between the legislature and judiciary by opting against a presidential reference to delineate the legislature8217;s powers. Given all its cases, it wants to stay on the right side of the judges. Of course, the apex court8217;s directive on the date and manner of the confidence vote in the Jharkhand assembly could lead to the erosion of the legislature8217;s powers. Yet, for the first time, the legislature was divided on its powers. This has never happened before.

The power of the governor to appoint a CM is neither subject to a judicial review nor open to parliamentary scrutiny nor given to presidential monitoring. But all these three things happened in the case of Jharkhand. In addition to the governor, the role of the Speaker came into question, both in Goa and in Jharkhand. Yet another casualty was the manner in which the governor was bypassed by the Central government. Home Minister Shivraj Patil virtually admitted that New Delhi 8212; not the governor 8212; had decided to sack Rane in Goa and Soren in Jharkhand. Every constitutional institution had overstepped its jurisdiction.

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The Congress tried to extricate itself from a messy situation by showing Soren the door and inviting Arjun Munda to form the government. But there is bound to be a political fallout. The party may face the disenchantment of the JMM 8212; and the tribals 8212; in the days to come. Given the botched up operations, it may also have to face wariness from potential allies 8212; like the BJP MLAs who had resigned from the Parrikar ministry to join hands with it.

But the dark clouds have also revealed a silver lining. Given the fiasco of last week, the UPA 8212; and for that matter the NDA 8212; will think many times before they do a Jharkhand or a Goa again. And Manmohan Singh showed signs of becoming more 8220;visible8221;. In an enough is enough initiative, he coordinated with his UPA allies. Whatever be the internal understanding between him and Sonia Gandhi, the prime minister 8212; who is the custodian of the Constitution 8212; cannot make the plea that he was out of the loop.