The governor’s dignity

The resignation of Maharashtra Governor P.C. Alexander has occasioned a flurry of speculation in the dovecotes of power. Is he doing it because he is miffed over the manner he had been treated in the race for the presidential post? Does this mean that he is headed for a New Delhi assignment? Could it be a Rajya Sabha nomination, perhaps? Is it K.C. Pant’s job in the Planning Commission? Or may be it is the vice-presidential candidature? The paparazzi, which has generally left gubernatorial personages in peace, now descend on Alexander in droves, scenting a story here, even though the subject of their attention has made it amply clear that he has passed the stage of chasing official posts and is not a candidate for the vice-presidency. As Alexander put it: ‘‘I have never asked for anything.’’

Well, he has indeed passed that stage, and he must now be allowed to retire with his dignity intact. For a man who has scrupulously followed the rulebook and conducted himself in as status quoist a manner as possible in a career spanning over half a century, it must be particularly galling to be subjected to the crass political manipulation he has had to suffer over the last few weeks. The manner in which his name was bandied about, first secretly and then openly, as a possible successor to President Narayanan; the way it was rejected out of hand by the Opposition, fearful that it would be used to stymie Sonia Gandhi’s chances of becoming prime minister; and the fashion in which it was dropped at the last minute and replaced by that of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, would certainly have proved an unsettling experience. If Alexander is upset by such treatment, he has every reason to be, and it is only to be hoped that the politicians responsible for this fiasco have done their utmost to convey their regrets for the unwarranted embarrassment caused to him.

But having said that, the suggestion that the ruling party now owes Alexander some kind of favour for having treated him so shabbily and has therefore to award him a government job or a Rajya Sabha nomination, is plainly absurd. Alexander has served India in numerous capacities. He has been a principal secretary to two prime ministers — Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He has occupied the post of high commissioner to the UK for three years; he has served in various senior UN posts and been a governor in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra for well over a decade. He is, besides, 81 years of age. To make him an offer of a governmental or political assignment to somehow make up for past hamhandedness would amount to practising the politics of patronage. It would also amount to insulting Alexander yet again.