What Vajpayee told Manmohan

Manmohan Singh8217;s first budget was awaited with hope and excitement 8212; both the prime minister and the finance minister had raised expectations with calculated pre-budget tinkering, urgently needed then to save the economy from rapidly deepening crises. When Manmohan Singh rose to present his historic first budget 1991-92, at 5 p.m. that day, there was loud obstruction by the communists, the socialists, and most regional parties. A former prime minister was sarcastically taunting Dr Singh with the contradiction between his new avatar as the messiah of economic liberalisation for India and his then freshly minted South-South Commission Report. With the din getting louder, and the gentle minister in visible fluster, Advani stood up, and addressed the speaker Sivaraj Patil: Sir, the finance minister should proceed. Suddenly, there was surprise, silence.

Manmohan Singh began his speech, the budget was presented. There was much discussion in the country, in the press and on TV, and finally, for several days, in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha a debate. Several Congressmen, many BJP MPs and leaders of different political parties participated in a lively discussion. Vajpayee spoke at length for the BJP, praising the general thrust of the budget, even reciting a short verse to compliment the Congress finance minister. In concluding his reply to the debate, the minister acknowledged the merit of the BJP8217;s criticism of some parts of the budget, promised remedial measures, and gallantly recited an Urdu couplet in appreciation of Vajpayee8217;s speech and gestures during the debate. That was barely 15 years ago. The rest is history.

Now, the Opposition read: the BJP is the enemy. India is rising, parts of it shining even. But the country is facing more challenges than ever. Yet the Budget of P. Chidambaram was not discussed for even a minute in either House. This deliberate slight when the nation needs consensus on reforms, more reforms. And Manmohan Singh is the prime minister!

The communists8217; ideology, beliefs and practices are in direct opposition to what the good doctor from 1991 prescribed and practised for five years, and has preached for two decades and more. Manmohan Singh8217;s government is dependent on them for survival at the Centre. But will the Centre hold?

So many ills are the consequence of too many political parties, regional ambitions, caste politics, greed. But it is the Congress-BJP divide that is fuelling much of this: it is boosting totalitarian ambitions of the communists, the short-sighted and narrow goals of the regional parties, the sickening chest-beating of the pseudo-secularists. It is, importantly, hurting and diminishing the once mighty Congress party.

Men of Manmohan Singh8217;s calibre, passion and humility come by only once in decades. They are men of destiny. Some time in 1997, Vajpayee sent me on a mission to Manmohan Singh. Vajpayee was deeply worried over the frequent change of governments at the Centre, and the inevitable slow-down all this was causing in the country8217;s progress. He wanted stability, a strong Centre. He asked me to convey to Dr Singh the readiness of the BJP to support a Congress government at the Centre for full five years if Dr Singh could be elected the leader of that party. As I have stated earlier, Vajpayee himself was a prime minister-in-waiting for a long time, but to him a strong Centre was more important. After discussing this matter with Advani, who agreed to the initiative, I met Dr Singh. His answer: the Congress would not hear of it! But the times have changed.

In the event, what Advani has said deserves serious consideration by all thinking members of the Congress.

The writer is a publisher and film producer