That sinking feeling

As the battle for Ranchi sets off yet more dangerous confrontations, it would be useful to return to the moment when it all began. Ten days ...

As the battle for Ranchi sets off yet more dangerous confrontations, it would be useful to return to the moment when it all began. Ten days ago, Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi issued an invitation to Shibu Soren to form a government. In doing so, he erred on two counts. Soren did not give sufficient proof that he could command the confidence of the assembly, nor did he lead the single largest pre-poll alliance. In addition, Soren was given three weeks to pass a trust vote, an inordinately extravagant stint allowed to a government of uncertain majority. That is it. The purpose here is not to merely recap the events of that shameful Wednesday. It is instead to identify the first mistakes that have so swiftly given the Central government the most acute constitutional crisis of recent times. Every development thereupon has threatened to trigger turf battles among the judiciary, legislature and executive. In the immediate aftermath of that Wednesday, the Centre could have stepped in to reverse the outrage. It did not. It will have to. Question is, will it remain insistent on having its hands forced, or will it cut its losses and become proactive in the national interest? Either way, the rescue act will have to begin with Razi8217;s exit.

The political orientation of the likely winner of a vote of confidence in Jharkhand 8212; when it is eventually allowed to take place 8212; is now just of academic interest. Events as they have played out have raised the stakes. Motivations that appear to have guided Razi are now besmirching those authorised to check a governor gone unconstitutional. Ploys to brazen out criticism of Soren8217;s appropriation of the chief minister8217;s office are now upsetting the delicate separation of powers between judiciary and legislature. The Centre may have decided not to accept Speaker Somnath Chatterjee8217;s proposal for a presidential reference on the Supreme Court order on Jharkhand. It is true, in the heat of controversy, it could lead to a squaring off with the courts. But Jharkhand has already presented the country with fundamental questions. Answers have to be worked out in order to reclaim the credibility of the offices of speaker and governor. But that process can begin once the Central government cleans up the current mess.

The UPA, we hope, will realise and affirm that no political point is worth the price Jharkhand is extracting 8212; that if the Centre keeps postponing remedial action, it will only draw national politics and constitutional norms into a polarised free-for-all. Last chances to back-pedal are running out, the Centre must seize this moment. And the Opposition too, we expect, would match corrective action by hushing self-congratulation and offering cooperation.