Commentary/T V R Shenoy

Jai Sitaram!

Many years ago Doordarshan used to air a serial called The Odd Couple. It showed two utterly dissimilar men, sharing an apartment to save on the rent. The result, to put it mildly, was hilarious.

Unless, of course, you had to put up with it yourself. In that case it wasn't so much hilarious as chaotic.

If someone ever decides to make an Indian version of that serial, I have just the man for the lead roles --- the two Sitarams of contemporary politics. I refer to Kesri and Yechuri.

One is old, and the other is young. One draws a discreet veil over his qualifications, and the other is a product of the capital's elite Jawaharlal Nehru University. One stumbles to put ten words together in a coherent sentence, and the other spouts rhetoric all too easily.

But the Congress chacha and the Communist comrade do have some things in common -- a mutual interest in the temporary survival of the Deve Gowda ministry coupled with an utter lack of respect for accepted democratic norms.

Between them, the Congress and the CPI-M have roughly 175 MPs in the Lok Sabha. That is well over half the strength that keeps the current government in office.

But I am yet to hear a sincere compliment about the ministry from even one of those 175 men and women. What I do hear is a constant stream of complaints about non-performance and worse.

The Congress says the rise in prices is affecting the common man. (Which it is). The Left Front opposes reform of the insurance sector, saying it is the equivalent of handing over the country to foreigners. (This may or not be correct). And so it goes....

Now all this makes a lot of sense if it is the BJP or one of its allies that is saying all this. All they can do is to point out the errors of the Deve Gowda ministry, and hope that India at large shall take notice.

But there is a solution ready at hand if the Congress or the CPI-M are truly unhappy. They are the ones propping up the ministry. All they have to do is to withdraw 'support from outside.'

Or if they are scared of losing even more seats in a fresh general election, there is a second option. They can choose to join the government, and force through the policies they want by sheer weight of numbers.

This would be in the finest democratic tradition -- where one assumes responsibility along with power. Is that why the two Sitarams are unwilling to try it out?

There are Congressmen and Marxists who would be happy to join the government. Nothing could make the Sitarams more unhappy.

As we all know, Jyoti Basu was offered the chance to head such a coalition ministry, not once but twice. The offer was approved of by both Basu and CPI-M General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet.

The idea of an honest coalition was dashed by Sitaram Yechuri and his doctrinaire colleagues. That would have mean sharing power and making compromises. That is the democratic way, but since when has Communism ever accepted genuine democracy?

Come to that, democracy hasn't been a polite word in the Congress since Indira Gandhi assumed supreme power. Sitaram Kesri, her handpicked treasurer, is true to that tradition.

A large section of the Congress would be happy to serve under Prime Minister Deve Gowda. (They would be happy with any prime minister!) But Kesri doesn't want that.

It would immediately create a rival power centre. And one, which is more, that would be in a position to dole out the perks of office. He may call himself Congress president after that it he wishes, but his authority will be gone.

In the final analysis, Sitaram Kesri and Sitaram Yechuri are quintessential backroom operators. Unlike a Jyoti Basu, or a Sharad Pawar, or even a Narasimha Rao, they have a history of shying away from facing the people of India directly. They operate best behind the closed doors of their party offices, where they can be ruthless.

What they do in their own parties is their own business. But what their policies are doing to India should concern every everyone.

Between them, they have installed a government that is in permanent danger of falling apart. They don't allow it to take sensible decisions, no matter how vital they may be. But nor will they permit it to be voted out of office.

Is there any way out of the impasse? Well, both men have changed their policies of late. The 'unconditional support' promised by the Congress has changed to 'issue-based support.' The CPI-M in turn promises 'support and struggle'.

But will either Sitaram have the courage of their convictions, and bring down the government? I doubt it. The role of backseat drivers is far too comfortable. Only Lord Rama, it seems, can save us all from the blind alley created by the two Sitarams!

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