Chasing that bank of votes again

Uttar Pradesh goes to polls and the Congress is wooing the Muslims again,promising to set aside a quota of up to 9 per cent. Clearly,it hasn’t drawn any lessons from its similar move in Andhra Pradesh — to reserve 5% for Muslims in jobs and educational institutions. Not once but thrice,the court turned it down,each time severely indicting the government for trying to push through a measure without any homework and once even riding on dodgy data. The government,however,brazened it out and has been able to park the case in the Supreme Court.

Is that cynicism in command again? Who cares if the courts strike down the promise later? By that time those who have to be fooled,would have been fooled; what is to be won,would have been won.

Exclusive Excerpts from the expanded edition of Arun Shourie’s FALLING OVER BACKWARDS,to be published by HarperCollins in April 2012 are on The Indian Express website.