Commentary/T V R Shenoy

The President has made 'closed room' deals possible -- all in the name of saving the Budget!

Question: What is the President going to do after the fall of the Deve Gowda ministry?

Answer: God knows!

Don't laugh, it isn't a joke. As I write, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma has left New Delhi to worship at Srisailam!

I must admit there is something appropriate in propitiating the Lord of Destruction at this juncture. After all, the administration, the economy, and the entire political system seem set to plunge into a new pralaya.

But the gods help only those who help themselves. It is time that the President acted to stop the ongoing farce.

Ever since Sitaram Kesri's letter broke the holiday calm on March 30, there was barely a pretence of government. And there has been none whatsoever since the vote of confidence.

The President's response has been muted. He asked the fallen Cabinet to continue until "alternative arrangements" were made. He followed this up a little later by summoning the Lok Sabha to meet in a special session from April 21 to 23 to pass the Budget.

We have entered dangerous waters with this decision. The passage of a Budget in the Lok Sabha is traditionally a sign of the confidence of the House in the ministry. If the Deve Gowda government carries through the President's directive, on what grounds can it be asked to quit office?

That isn't the only problem. The President's letter seems to have guaranteed Deve Gowda's tenure up to April 21, possibly even April 23. This is far too long a term for a government that has lost the Lok Sabha's confidence.

Some say the President had no other choice but to act as he has. I couldn't disagree more.

Please remember that on March 31, Sitaram Kesri sent a second letter specifically claiming the right to form a government. Dr Sharma could have taken up the offer on 12, following the United Front's defeat in the vote of confidence.

The President could have insisted that Kesri convince him of his support within, say, a week. This would have cleared up the mess. Because Kesri would never have succeeded.

The Left Front, the Telugu Desam and the Assam Gana Parishad would have refused to prop up the Congress. This, with the BJP and the BSP, would have meant a majority against Kesri. With Kesri's bluff called, the way would have been clear for fresh polls.

(The President has bailed out the Congress president. Kesri still can't cobble a majority, but he can use his letter as leverage to drum the UF into line.)

Wouldn't this have disrupted the Budget? Not necessarily. The House committees could have carried on as they are doing -- Deve Gowda would be in office as he is now.

Incidentally, when did the Chidambaram Budget achieve such sanctity? Manmohan Singh had some bitter things to say about it. And the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechuri actually threatened a cut motion before the other Sitaram saved him the trouble by bringing down the government!

As things stand, the Budget which shall be passed -- if it is passed -- will be nobody's baby. In the very nature of things, it must be a consensus Budget. Which means that sections of it must be unpalatable to one party or the other.

When a responsible government finally comes into office, it will be stuck with a Budget which it didn't make. Will this ministry accept responsibility for the bits it doesn't approve of?

I salute the maturity shown by the political parties in averting the immediate crisis. But the brutal fact is that they are setting a dangerous precedent in passing a Budget prepared and presented by a defeated government.

In any case, the Budget is only part of the government responsibilities. There are other important tasks. (Foreign affairs, defence, and handling truckers strikes, for instance!) Putting everything in limbo till April 24 is a luxury which India can't afford.

The President isn't even taking the initiative in meeting party leaders. (Of course, they keep calling on him.) Is Dr Sharma waiting for the Congress and the UF to put together another immoral face of a government "supported from outside?"

They will certainly oblige, but in their own sweet time. The President owes the people an explanation for his mystifying behaviour. He has made no effort to install a popular government, thus making 'closed-room' deals possible -- all in the name of saving the Finance Bill!

And after all this, the fate of the Budget is still up in the air. What happens if a cut motion succeeds during the debate?

Normally, the government is expected to quit immediately. But what if it happens during the special session? Must Deve Gowda resign again?

As I said before, God knows!

Tell us what you think of this column