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Posted on 11 March, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
The schedule for the Lok Sabha elections has been announced. The next ten weeks will witness a clash of ideas and ideologies, competitiveness amongst candidates and a battle for leadership. There are several issues which occupy the agenda space in an election. Today, I deal with one of the principal issues which occupies a foremost relevance in 2019 General Elections – the issue of leadership.
The Incumbent Prime Minister
India has witnessed several General Elections where incumbent Prime Minister has faced an anti-incumbency. Anti-incumbency is a phenomenon where unhappy people vote an incumbent out. The Opposition succeeds by default. However, if the comfort level and the confidence with incumbent is high, his performance, leadership, ethics and integrity has been tested, the incumbent succeeds.
The country assessed Shri Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a period of fourteen years. He emerged a strong leader with development orientations, a nationalist vision, a politician of utmost integrity. He ensured that those who work with or under him also adopt the ethics which is expected from people in public offices. He withstood a false and vicious campaign against him. The facts in the campaign proved false in every legal battle. He did not allow himself to be bogged down by the hostile campaign. He laid down his own developmental agenda for the State and won three successive Lok Sabha elections and three Assembly Elections. He communicated directly with the people. He stands out as a communicator. He created and nurtured a new leadership in Gujarat. The Gujarati population all over the world identifies with him. He inspired them.
He entered the 2014 electoral race when the country saw indecisiveness, a collapse of leadership, a policy paralysis and integrity a big casualty. The people rewarded him with a comfortable mandate.
How does a nation assess him after five years?
He has proved to the world that India can be administered with integrity and honesty. India is capable of tough decisions in order to ensure growth to enable India to secure itself. India occupies the high table in the world. It has become the fastest growing economy. He ensured an economic model where the advantage of the additionality of resources emerging from the fast growing economy is spent on infrastructure or transferred to the poor, particularly in the rural areas. He did not give slogans but he transferred actual resources to bring down poverty levels and added to the ease of living.
Even his critics are bewildered by his evolution of his national security doctrine. He has evolved India from a nation which only defended itself domestically against terror through intelligence and security network and isolated Pakistan at the global level to a nation which is capable of destroying terror at the points of its’ origin. The success of the surgical strikes of 2016 and the air strikes of 2019 points to this direction.
Within the NDA there are no leadership issues. There is absolute clarity. Shri Narendra Modi leads the NDA and will be the Prime Minister in the event of the NDA victory. His leadership is nationally accepted, his ratings are very high. His track record speaks for itself.
Let us look at the other side
What was promised to be ‘Mahagathbandhan’ is turning out to be a ‘gathbandhan’ of several conflicting gathbandhans. It is a self-destructive ‘coalition of rivals’. The BSP and the SP will contest against the Congress but eventually join hands. So will the Trinamool and the Congress -Left alliance in West Bengal. However, in Kerala the Congress and the Left will contest against each other. The PDP and the National Conference tried to form the Government together with the support of the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir. Today they are rivals in an election and on the dangerous agenda of either ‘autonomy’ or ‘pre-1953 status’ but could join hands with the gathbandhan. The Biju Janata Dal, the TRS and the YSRCP are not with the gathbandhan.
The leadership issue is an absolute puzzle. The Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi is a inadequate leader. He is tried, tested and failed. His lack of understanding of issues is frightening. He aspires to be the leader of this chaotic pack.
Mamata Didi is positioning herself as the ‘sutradhar’ of this alliance. She won’t concede a single seat either to the Congress or the Left in West Bengal but will want them to be her pillion riders if she drives the vehicle. Her instinctive comments on policy issues are retrograde.
Behan Mayawati, the leader of the BSP, was wiped out in the last Lok Sabha elections. She changed her strategy. She wants a strong BSP and a weak Congress. She holds her cards close to her chest. She will open them only after the results are declared. She has had a strategic ‘alliance of compulsion’ with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh but the scars of her historical conflict with its allies have not washed away. She wants a strong BSP and a weak Congress. Leaders with flexible ideologies think that they are acceptable to all. The Opposition alliance is unclear – it is absolutely fragile. None of the political parties is capable of any significant number of seats. The alliance will not have a stable nucleus. It has a set of highly ambitious, self-centered and maverick leaders. Barring the Congress and the Left, most of them have done political business with the BJP in the past. Their ideologies and commitment to their constituents are widely different.
The Contest
The contest is between a leader in whose hand the country is developing and secure. He is trusted. Against him it is no one projected leader. There are multiple leaders, each trying to outwit the other. They can only promise a temporary Government if we go by the past precedents. One can be certain of chaos. The choice is clear – it is either Modi or chaos.
Posted on 03 March, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
The Congress led UPA Government from 2004 to 2014 ran a terrible Government. From 2014 to 2019, it was even a more terrible Opposition. There are occasions in history where the nation speaks in one voice. Politicians and leaders rise to the level of statesmanship. They rise above narrow partisan interest. Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s and the Jana Sangh’s support to the Government during the 1971 war is a case in point.
The terrorists attack at Pulwama on 14th February, 2019 was planned and hatched across the border. Several Pakistani nationals were involved in it. Some have already been liquidated. There is enough evidence which points to this direction. It has been shared with Pakistan.
The attack generated a sense of revulsion against terrorists and its sponsors in India. The nation was determined that the blood of our martyred Jawans will continue to inspire us to eliminate terrorism.
The pre-emptive attack by our Air Force at Balakot across the border was intended to defend India’s sovereignty. It was a perfectly executed pinpointed operation. No civilian or military installations were targeted – only terrorists were.
The retaliatory attack by Pakistan’s F-16 was the most botched up operation. In short, both the attack and our defence pointed to the valour and professionalism of our Air Force. Pakistan was globally isolated. Even the OIC refused to pay heed to it. It violated every tenet of the Geneva Convention in relation to our brave Wing Commander Abhinandan. Not only was Pakistan globally isolated, the issue of its terrorism has reached the Security Council. So helpless was the situation that it was in no position to even admit the attack at Balakot. If it had admitted the attack and its consequences, the evidence of a terrorist camp in existence and the list of dead terrorists would have been international issue.
The whole of India was speaking in one voice. Public opinion overwhelmingly supported the Government’s decision and the Air Force’s execution.
However, like its other friends in the Opposition, the Congress Party refuses to learn. After initial show of support for our Air Force, it tried to create a divide in India’s political opinion. From the Congress and its friends, we have witnessed three recent statements.
In a meeting of the 21 Opposition Parties, a resolution was passed, accusing the Prime Minister of politicizing the Pulwama and Balakot incidents. The Government had twice taken the Leaders of Opposition parties into confidence. No evidence of politicization was given. The statement was inappropriate. It gave a handle to the enemy. The media in Pakistan used this statement of 21 Opposition Parties as a trump card. It took the statement as an endorsement of the Pakistani position that India had taken the Balakot action because of the compulsion of its domestic politics and not as a part of it’s policy to defend the country against terrorism.
The West Bengal Chief Minister went a step further. She started doubting the veracity of the incident and wanted to know the operational details. The credibility of both the Government and our Air Force is being doubted. Even Congress leaders have raised similar questions.
I was most disappointed with a brief but a highly objectionable statement of the former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. While receiving the P.V. Narasimha Rao Award for the lifetime achievement, he stated that he was disturbed with the “Mad rush of mutual self-destruction” by the two nations. He further went on to argue that poverty, ignorance and disease were the real problems in the two countries and that saner counsel on both sides needed to think on the issue. What does this statement indicate? My analysis of the statement is as follows:-
- The former Prime Minister elevated himself to the status of a neutral third party rather than be concerned about India’s interest.
- He further developed a theory of parity and equivalence between both India and Pakistan. The perpetrator of terrorism and the victim of terrorism are both at par according to him.
- Implicitly, he doubts India’s right to defend its sovereignty from those who want to damage it through terrorism.
- There is no condemnation of terrorism in that speech.
- Amongst the problems facing India that he mentions which include poverty, ignorance and disease. Violence and terrorism are of no consequence in his assessment.
Seen collectively and cumulatively, the above three statements ought not to have been made. They hurt India’s national interest. Not only do they give smiles to Pakistan, they become an important instrument in Pakistan’s hands to discredit India. Does the opposition want the Air Force to release operation details of the Balakot attack? The Opposition is entitled to oppose and ask questions, but then restrain and statesmanship are also an essential ingredient of public discourse. I hope, India’s Opposition revisits its position and does not let down the nation.
Posted on 22 February, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
Yesterday the Congress President announced appointment of Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda (Retd.) and a committee headed by him to advice the Party on National Security Policy. Lt. Gen. Hooda is an experienced and distinguished former officer of the Indian Army. I have not the least doubt that he would give a very valuable advice to the grand old Party.
The appointment of General Hooda is significant. It is a belated and grudging recognition and acceptance of the surgical strikes of 2016 with which the General was intrinsically associated. I am sure the Head of the Advisory Panel would educate the Party leaders that the surgical strikes were no routine step which had been taken several times in the past, but a significant first for India.
The Party which has ruled the country for over half a century should need to be educated on national security concerns is somewhat intriguing. I am sure amongst the various advices that experts will render to the Congress President on strategic issues, a few basic points would be essential. I am enumerating some of the basic points which are integrally connected to consistency on the issue of national security:
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Do not give an impression to the world that India is divided on how to fight terrorism. When the world is rallying around India, the Opposition in India should not be striking a discordant note.
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Do not trivialise a serious national concern on terrorism as has been done by the Congress Spokespersons in the past two days.
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Next time if extremists and separatists raise slogans on how to break India (the JNU incident), no one from mainstream parties should pay a supporting visit to them. There is no freedom of speech to advocate a breakup of India.
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Do not encourage indiscriminate illegal immigration into India and block steps which are taken to stop it. It hurts national security.
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Our Armed forces are amongst the most professional organisations which have served this country exceedingly well. They work under a civilian command and maintain an arm’s length distance from the internal politics of the country. Politicians of any shade of opinion should not get into slanging match with any of the services personnel or their Chief. The Chief of a Force can’t be described as a ‘Sadak ka Goonda’.
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When security personnel fight the terrorists and make sacrifices (e.g. Batla House), do not legitimise terrorism by standing shoulder to shoulder with the terrorists and call the war against terror as a fake encounter.
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When our intelligence agencies conduct anti-insurgency operations along with the security forces (e.g. Ishrat Jahan case), do not let lose investigative agencies on the intelligence and security network of India.
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To serve petty political gains, do not politicise defence procurement on false and imaginary facts. It hurts defence preparedness.
I am sure there would be many serious inputs relating to the security strategy that experts would give to the Congress Party. Ordinary patriotic Indians who do not have the benefit of strategic inputs, would also know the response to the above points.
Posted on 12 February, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
Truth is both precious and sacrosanct. In mature democracies those who deliberately rely on falsehood are banished from public life. There is no doubt that with the changing socio-economic profile of India this will inevitably happen in India.
In modern world dynasties inherently have their limitations. Aspirational societies abhor kingdoms. They insist on accountability and performance. But the grand old party of Indian politics has sadly become a captive of a dynasty. Many of its senior leaders lack the courage and moral authority to advise the dynasts to change course. This trend started in early 1970s; climaxed during the Emergency and has continued eversince. The ‘slave’ mentality of senior leaders convinces them that they must only sing the song scripted by the dynast. A contrarian opinion will cost them their political career. When the dynast speaks lies, they all join the chorus.
How many lies are necessary to be peddled to save a sinking dynasty? The contagion effect of falsehood is fairly large. It appears to have spread to other colleagues in the ‘Mahajhootbandhan’. In relation to the Rafale deal where thousands of crores of public money has been saved, a new falsehood is manufactured on a daily basis. The latest is in relation to the present CAG and his participation in the decision making process of Rafale. In 2014-15, the present CAG was Secretary (Economic Affairs) in the Ministry of Finance. Being a seniormost at one point of time, he was also designated as the Finance Secretary. I say this without fear of contradiction that no file or paper relating to the Rafale transaction ever reached him nor was he in any way, directly or indirectly, associated with the decision making on defence purchases. Expenditure to be incurred on purchases by various departments of the Government needs the approval of Secretary (Expenditure).
Why then is the lie in relation to the CAG having a non-existent conflict of interest being raised? The dynast knows that his 500 crore vs 1600 crore kindergarten argument was a fictional story. No one would ever buy it because facts don’t support it. Even before the contents of CAG report are known, a ‘Peshbandi’ attack on the institution of the CAG is launched. The dynast and his friends have in the past even attacked the Supreme Court when it rejected the writ petition on Rafale. The entire pricing argument was factually wrong. The procedure argument that there was no Defence Acquisition Council, no CCS, no Contract Negotiation Committee was a blatant lie. The Rs.30,000 crore favour to a private company is non-existent. The use of sliced document by a newspaper is unprecedented in the history. The use of an incomplete document is certainly not in consonance with the spirit of free speech. The ‘no integrity pact’ argument is belied by the fact that even in earlier purchases through inter-governmental agreement with Russia and the United States, such pacts were not there. Now without a shred of evidence, a fictional conflict of interest of the CAG is invented.
How many more lies will be peddled to sustain a sinking dynast? India, certainly deserves better.
Posted on 10 February, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
The past two months have witnessed several fake campaigns. Each one of them has failed to cut much ice. Falsehood doesn’t have longevity. The ‘compulsive contrarians’ continued to jump from one falsehood to another. The Rafale deal not only strengthens the combat ability of the Indian Air Force but saved thousands of crores for the exchequer. When its falsehood collapsed, a half document was produced to perpetuate the falsehood. Little did the creators of this falsehood realise that the cost of producing half a document is loss of full credibility. Those who organised loot on the banks between 2008-2014, started alleging that industrial loans had been waived. Not a single rupee was waived. On the contrary, the defaulters have been thrown out of management. The falsehood that the Government and its Ministers were colluding to allow the economic offenders to escape was exposed when one after the other the investigative agencies were succeeding in bringing back many of the key defaulters and middlemen. The campaign against the GST fizzled out since in just eighteen months of implementation it became a consumer friendly measure reducing taxes, exempting small businesses and ending corruption/ harassment by eliminating interface of the assesse and the officials. The attack has now shifted to a new ground. Institutions are under pressure – the charge comes from none others than those who have a history of having subverted institutions all their lives. Illustratively little did the authors of the PMLAs harsh provisions realise that the provisions could haunt the authors themselves. It is, therefore, necessary to analyse this argument of “institutions under attack”.
Parliament
History will record that Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’s great grandson has singularly damaged India’s Parliament as an institution more than anyone else. Attempts are made at 11.00 AM every morning by the Congress Party to disrupt both Houses. The Rajya Sabha once known for the quality of its debates has become non-functional. If we analyse Rahul Gandhi’s two speeches on Rafale, they are based on a personal hatred for the Prime Minister emanating from envy. A failed student always hates the class topper. Additionally, the context of the speeches points more to college-level lumpenisation in content. It has been left to two opposition members namely Bhartruhari Mahtab of the BJD and N.K. Premachandran of the RSP to fill up the intellectual vacuum that the Congress has created.
Judiciary
One of the key points being made in regard to the judiciary is that the Government referred back one of the recommendations to the Supreme Court to the collegium for reconsideration. The Government under the present constitutional procedure, is entitled to refer back a recommendation of the collegium by recording reasons in writing. If after reconsideration the collegium re-recommends the case, the Government implements the recommendation. This was done in the present case. Regarding delay in implementing the recommendations, the last five years have seen more appointments each year than done in any of the UPA years. The ill-advised press conference of four judges of the Supreme Court last year has more to do with intra-Court affairs than with the Government.
On the contrary, what is the track record of the Government’s opponents with regard to their attitude in relation to the judiciary? The impeachment motion filed by the Opposition on unsustainable grounds was only an attempt to intimidate the then Chief Justice of India and set an example for other judges – you toe our line or we can create an embarrassing situation for you. That was the loud and clear message. Lawyers opposed to the Government have consistently used intimidation of judges as a court room tactic. Walk out of court hearings, to social media campaigns against the judges was unprecedented but today a reality. Using the instrument of falsehood they have preferred several petitions where facts have actually been found to be false inviting severe strictures from the court. The glaring examples in this regard are the falsehood with regard to Judge Loya’s death, the Rafale issue, the fake voter list scam in Madhya Pradesh and the Vyapam case. In each of the cases, the facts stated were found to be false. Notwithstanding the judgements of the Court, many opposition leaders continue to still rely on the same falsehood. Adverse judgements have led to a campaign against the court. We witnessed a social media campaign against the judgement in the Judge Loya case. After the recent Rafale judgement, one of the petitioners (a former career nationalist) announced that the Supreme Court had lowered its credibility by deciding the Rafale case.
Election Commission
The Government has consistently maintained an arm’s length distance with the Election Commission. There have been no significant issues between the Government and the Commission. The attack on the EVM’s is not merely to allay defeat, it is an attack on the Election Commission. The EVM were introduced into the election process when BJP was nowhere close to power. Multiple parties have won and lost elections held through the EVM. Without producing a shred of evidence, the EVM’s are being attacked. The campaign became farcical when a fraudulent press conference was held by an invisible man through video in London claiming to have knowledge of the alleged 2014 rigging.
Armed Forces
The Government and the BJP have consistently stood by our Armed Forces whether we were in Government or in opposition. It is the Opposition which questioned first the existence of the surgical strike and then played it down as a routine action which has also taken place in the past. The Army Chief was described as a ‘Sadak ka Gunda’. Serious doubts have been raised on the Air Force led choice of the combat aircraft Rafale and its negotiation process. In the face of all this, they allege that institutions are under attack by the Government would be a mockery.
Reserve Bank of India
Congress Governments in the past have been liberal in asking Governors of the RBI to quit. Pt. Nehru, Mrs. Indira Gandhi and subsequently Mr. Yashwant Sinha had asked Governors to quit. During the UPA Government, two Governors were barely on speaking terms with the Finance Minister. Nothing of this kind has happened in the recent past. The Government legitimately flags the issues relating to liquidity and credit availability with the RBI. They were raised at the highest level of the Government and through all processes – statutory and consultative. The issues were legitimate. The Government is the principal manager of the nation’s economy. How can raising legitimate issues relating to credit and liquidity availability be an interference with the RBI. The Government consistently maintained communications with the RBI Governors during its tenure.
The CBI
The Government does not interfere in any investigative function of CBI or any other investigative agency. Once the Government received the recommendation of Central Vigilance Commission with regard to transferring two squabbling officers of CBI asking them to go on leave, the Government in the larger interest of restoring the credibility of the CBI acted. The Government’s stand has been vindicated with regard to the cleansing of a key investigative agency when based on the CVC’s report, the three member High Powered Committee decided to recommend the transfer of the CBI Director. Restoring the credibility of an investigative agency is strengthening the institution and not assaulting it. In fact, it is the Opposition which has maintained a two-way approach to the CBI – on a daily basis the CBI should be attacked when it investigates corruption but if the Government takes action to restore the credibility of the CBI, the Government should be put in the dock.
There are two critical features of these new emerging breed of ‘institution protectors’. They criticise the Government the maximum and simultaneously argue that the free speech is in danger. They shed crocodile tears for democracy and make every effort to convert the world’s largest democracy into a dynastic one. The number of BJP-RSS workers killed in the Left Front ruled Kerala and the TMC Ruled West Bengal should shock the conscious of a nation. In West Bengal, democracy is seriously under peril. BJP leaders can’t land, public meetings are being prevented and the Rath Yatra was disallowed. The Congress Party’s stand on multiple issues is self-contradictory. It slaughters a cow before the cameras in Kerala, and invokes the National Security Act against the cow killers in Madhya Pradesh. More than any institution it is the country whose interest is paramount. These ‘institution protectors’ support the legitimising of illegal infiltrators into India. They readily jump to the support of those who want to dismember India. The Congress aligned with the Maoist in the recent Chhattisgarh elections. Rahul Gandhi stood shoulder to shoulder with the ‘Tukde Tukde’ gang at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. The Congress was in the forefront of defending the urban naxals in court. And yet it claims to be friend of both, the idea of India and its institutions. It is about time that India and its institutions are protected from these ‘institution wreckers’.
Posted on 08 February, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
Some incidents are so unconscionable and repulsive that they shake the conscience of the society and compel it to take remedial measures. Injustice perpetuated by personal laws is a glaring example of this.
Many communities, over the last several decades, have brought incremental but significant changes in their personal laws. The object and direction of these changes has been that gender equality is ensured, rights of women and children are protected and the right to live with dignity is ensured. Some practices which survived for centuries were so obnoxious (as Sati and Untouchability) are now considered as unconstitutional.
A recent case from Bareilly has shocked my conscience. It relates to the obnoxious practice of Nikah-halala in Islamic personal law. A lady who is married in 2009 was twice divorced by her husband through Triple Talaq, once in 2011 and subsequently in 2017. The family prevailed upon the husband to accept her back. On both occasions, she was sedated and asked to undergo, Nikah-halala, on the first occasion with her father-in-law and on the subsequent occasion with her brother-in-law. They both raped her. Almost a similar case was reported by the PTI on September 2nd, 2018 as having taken place in the Sambhal District of Uttar Pradesh. That in the 21st Century there could be such gross violation of the dignity of women in the world’s largest democracy should make every head hang in shame. After raping this lady, both the father-in-law and brother-in-law used the weapon of Triple Talaq to divorce the victim so that she could be accepted by her husband.
If Triple Talaq had not been a permitted mode of divorce in India, would this incident emanating from a no fault – impulsive divorce have taken place. The Supreme Court has already declared instant talaq as unconstitutional and yet in the absence of a deterrent it can at best amount to a civil wrong with no penal consequences. A number of Muslim men and conservatives are choosing to even ignore the Supreme Court judgment.
Unfortunately, when human conscience should have been repelled while reading this news in the morning Newspapers. The AICC President Rahul Gandhi and his coterie, while addressing a minority convention promised to withdraw the Bill pending in the Parliament, penalising Triple Talaq. History has repeated itself, neither as a satire nor as a tragedy. It has repeated itself with a mindset of cruelty. The late Rajiv Gandhi committed a monumental mistake in legislatively overturning the Shah Bano judgment of the Supreme Court which guaranteed maintenance to all muslim women. He allowed deserted women to be driven to poverty and destitution. Thirty-two years later his son has taken another retrograde step to drive them not merely into destitution but also to live a life which is an antithesis of human existence. The Muslim woman in Bareilly has been forced into animal existence.
Votes are important, so is fairness. Political opportunists only look at the next day’s Headlines. Nation-builders look at the next Century.
Posted on 05 February, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
Mamata Banerjee’s disproportionate over-reaction to the CBI wanting to interrogate the Kolkata Police Chief has flagged several issues for a public discourse. The most important being that a Kleptocrat’s Club now aspires to capture the reigns of India.
The Chit Fund Fraud and its Investigation
The West Bengal Chit Fund Fraud was unearthed in 2012-13. Its investigations were handed over to the CBI by the Supreme Court. The Court monitored these investigations. The CBI has interrogated and even arrested some people. Many have been granted bail. If a Police Officer is also required to be interrogated, how does it become a “super emergency”, “assault on Federalism”, or “destruction of Institutions”? What is the strategy behind Chief Minister’s disgraceful and disproportionate reaction? What is her strategy in inviting all other leaders belonging to every opposition to join her on the Dharna? It would be a gross error to assume that she did this because of a routine investigation involving a Police Officer. She did it to defocus from other opposition aspirants for the highest office and to project herself as the nucleus of India’s opposition. Her speeches attack Prime Minister Modi but her strategy is aimed to defocus some of her other colleagues in the Opposition and hogging the centre stage.
Can a State assault Federalism?
Federalism is not a slogan. It is a delicate balance of the Centre-State relationship. Our Constitutional framework clearly defines the sharing of functions between the Centre and the State. It does not permit an overlap. There are Central agencies and organizations which conduct legitimate investigation in States. Today the CBI is being brutally prevented by physical force and detention of its officer from investigating a crime legally within its jurisdiction, in the State of West Bengal. It is a textbook illustration of a State Government assaulting Federalism. Can a State Government prevent the Income-tax Department from collecting taxes in a State? Can another State Government prevent the NIA from proceeding to arrest a Terrorist located in the State? Can the Enforcement Directorate be prevented from investigating or arresting a smuggler or money-launderer physically located in a State? Obviously the answer is No. If any of these is visible, it would be a case of a State assaulting Federalism. The prevention of a Central investigating agency discharging a function given to it by the Supreme Court is a direct assault on Federalism.
The new Kleptocrat’s Club
Technology has been a great enabler in detection of improper monetary transactions. Traceability of transactions has become simpler and the footprints of illegality can be traced. This has empowered all investigative agencies both at the Centre and at the State Governments to unearth financial crimes including corruption.
When Mamata Banerjee decided to sit on a Dharna she received support of many opposition parties. There is an important commonality between them. They are all in Opposition and aspire to be in power. Most of them, or their affiliates are today being investigated, prosecuted and in some cases have also been convicted for crimes of corruption. Her ally from Bihar represents the party of the convicted. The friend from Andhra Pradesh runs a party of contractors, thekhedaars and money-launderers. Her two friends from Uttar Pradesh represent the scandalous legacy of corruption. Her Anarchic brother from the Delhi Government is at his wits end because the penny stock companies of his Ministerial colleagues have been found out. Curiously, the AICC President somersaulted his position from Saradha being a scam to “shoulder-to-shoulder” support to the scamster. This somersaulter belongs to the first family of the Congress Party where most members of the family are on bail. It has been argued in the past that the Opposition is going in for a non-ideological short-lived coalition. India cannot afford instability. It has also been argued that the choice in the next Election will be either Modi Vs. Chaos or Modi Vs. Anarchy. Mamata Banerjee’s latest acrobatics are the best evidence of the kind of governance India’s opposition can provide. But more importantly those who have lent support to the West Bengal Dharna are those who are battling serious allegations of economic improprieties, criminal misconduct and even corruption. Can “New India” be ever run by this Kleptocrat’s Club?
Posted on 03 February, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
The leader of the largest party in Opposition in the Lok Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge dissented once again in the appointment of the new CBI Director. Shri Kharge dissents regularly. He dissented when Shri Alok Verma was appointed, dissented when Shri Alok Verma was transferred and has now dissented when Shri R. K. Shukla has been appointed. The only thing constant in the High Powered Committee comprising of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition which deals with the CBI Director’s appointment and transfer, is the Kharge dissent. Appointment of the CBI Director was a sole prerogative of the Government. The Government, i.e., the Council of Ministers is accountable to the House of the People. Appointments are made by the Cabinet either directly or by the ACC. It was felt that since investigation is an independent function, India’s primary investigating agency the CBI must maintain an arm’s-length distance from the Government. Hence the alternative opinion was voiced that the appointment should not be made by the Government alone but by a Collegium. The first institution to flag this concern was the judiciary. At the time of the drafting of the Lok Pal Law, the present Collegium was conceived. Since the Congress, in 2014, was not a recognized opposition falling below 10% of the seats in the last General Elections, the Government, maintaining the highest standards of fairness brought in an amendment wherein in the absence of a Leader of Opposition, the leader of the largest party in the Opposition was made a part of the appointment Collegium.
When the Leader of Opposition sits as a Member of the Collegium, he sheds off the political colour of his office as much as the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India shall both leave the authority of their respective domains and work exclusively towards appointing or transferring the Director on the criterion of merit or fairness. The position of Shri Kharge as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, entitles him to sit in the Committee but the political colour of that office has to be left outside. Shri Kharge then is a part of a Collegium, which discharges a governance function. Unfortunately, that does not seem to have happened.
Dissents are a powerful instrument in democracy. They are more commonly prevalent in judicial pronouncements. Dissents are also a part of the parliamentary system particularly in the Legislative Committees. The dissenter places an alternative view point. Where Monetary policy Committees exists, dissents are occasionally given by Members. Dissent in appointment Collegium are rare but not unknown. I concede to Shri Kharge the right to dissent. The dissenter is an assertor. He values his views. He represents an alternative view point. A dissenter challenges the majority. He does it on the basis of a call of conscience dictated by his fair mind. He puts his dissent on record so that it can be of value to the wisdom of the future generations. A dissent should never be a political tool. The right to dissent is sacrosanct and has to be sparingly used. If a dissenter dissents on every conceivable occasion he comes out as a person either motivated by collateral reasons or as a person lacking objectivity.
There is a difference between the dissents as a part of a judicial body and dissents in ordinary matters of administrative appointments. The first may involve sacrosanct principles and the latter involves a preference or a dislike for a particular individual. When Lord Atkins dissented in 1942 in the Habeas Corpus in England case during the Second World War or when Justice H. R. Khanna in the Habeas Corpus case during the Emergency in 1976 and more recently when Justice Indu Malhotra dissented in the Sabarimala case, these were powerful dissents of a strong opinion. The dissenters believed that the dissent may help future generations in correcting what the dissenting Judges felt was an erroneous view of the majority. However in an administrative matter of appointment or transfer, if Shri Kharge dissents on every conceivable opportunity, namely on the appointment of Alok Verma, transfer of Alok Verma and the appointment of R. K. Shukla in relation to the CBI Directorship it clearly established a pattern of his frame of mind. He uses the weapon of dissent excessively and not objectively. Using the instrument of dissent recklessly neutralizes its value. Dissents frequently used in administrative bodies like Collegiums compels independent observers not to take the dissent too seriously. The perpetual dissenter in a Collegium meant for appointments sends a message that he was included as a Member because of his capacity of Leader of the Opposition but he hasn’t been able to shed his role as an Opposition Member, even though now he is a part of a Government Committee. His dissent has diminished it value and credibility.
Mr. Kharge’s dissent in the matter of the transfer of Alok Verma was coloured by his political views. He was a petitioner in the Supreme Court himself in support of Alok Verma. He should have recused himself from the Committee since his views were known. He suffered from a bias and conflict of interest. Yet he did not recuse himself. The only task before the Committee was whether the CVC report contains the adequate material for transfer of the Director or not. He wanted the Committee to either ignore the CVC report or sit in appeal against the finding of the CVC – something which was beyond the jurisdiction of the Committee.
Shri Kharge has dissented a bit too frequently. Many may wonder if Collegium’s are workable. The appointment of a CBI Director was never envisaged to be a political battle. Shri Kharge has made it look like one.
Posted on 01 February, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
The Interim Budget presented by Shri Piyush Goyal today marks a high point in the policy directions that the Government headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given to this nation. Interim Budgets which are presented in the Election Year seek a Vote on Account for a limited period till the post-election Government can decide the further direction of the economy. However, past precedents have conclusively shown that urgent steps are required in the larger interests of the economy and they can be taken. We have the immediate precedents of the year 2009 and 2014 where significant taxation changes were brought about in the Interim Budgets.
Interim Budgets are also an opportunity for the Government of the day to introspect their performance of the last five years and place its facts before the people. The Government also outlines its vision for the future of the Indian economy. This is precisely what Shri Piyush Goyal’s Budget Speech has done.
Let me try to expand and illustrate the performance of the past five years and the further direction which the Interim Budget has given.
The political thrust
The political thrust of the past five years both through budgetary outlays, tax policy and legislative and administrative steps have been to create a Government which is decisive, compassionate and clean. The economic reforms undertaken have unshackled Indian economy, unleashed its potential and made us a global leader in growth. India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and is becoming a nation where it is easier to do business. The Prime Minister’s leadership has provided India with a decisive Government which is capable of even taking difficult decisions.
Reforms
Reforms have been undertaken with the idea of enhancing growth and the benefits of high growth have gone predominantly to the poor, the rural and the farm sector and infrastructure creation. Major reliefs have been provided to the taxpaying segments of the population. The anti-corruption and pro-transparency thrust of the Government involved elimination of routine permissions and approvals, ending of discretions in determination of contracts, licenses and natural resources. They would be allowed only through a market mechanism. An enhanced payment of State support through the Direct Benefit Transfer eliminated all leakages.
The major reforms undertaken by the Government involved significant steps like the GST, elimination of human interface in both the Direct and Indirect Taxes, the lowering of both Direct and Indirect Taxes and the expansion of the tax base. The Government has undertaken a major investment through capitalization to revive the banking system which was stressed on account of past legacy issues. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code being enacted, major credit schemes like the MUDRA loans, low-cost insurances and pensions and a major thrust towards funding the MSMEs, have all been key Banking Sector Reforms. The Demonetisation was a major assault on a high-cash economy which generated black money, tax evasion and even corruption. Demonetisation proved to be a major step towards formalization of the economy significantly enhancing India’s tax collection and a movement towards the digitalisation of the economy. The long pending reform was enacted in terms of the Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI. The Unique Identity Number provided by AADHAAR is a significant reform which is peculiar only to India. This covers 99% of India’s population.
Social sector reforms such as financial inclusion, connecting every family to banking, every home to electricity, every kitchen to cooking gas, every home to a toilet have been witnessed in the past five years.
India has become the largest recipient of FDI thanks to a liberalized policy. Our infrastructure sector in highways, ports, airports and civil aviation, power, smart cities, Metro systems, improved urban facilities has made a significant contribution.
The Government personnel, both Government employees and as those of the armed forces and para-military forces have benefited by the enhanced benefits being given to them through the implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, OROP and by the improvements made in the New Pension Scheme.
Macro-economic data
India’s macro-economic stability has unquestionably witnessed 2014-19 as perhaps the best-performing period in Indian history. The GDP growth during this five year period will be about 7.5%. The inflation will be in the range of 4%. The average fiscal deficit in the past five years has fallen from UPA 2’s figure of 5.3% to 3.7%. We will close a five year period by a figure of 3.4%. We would ordinarily have maintained a target of 3.3% but have a major announcement involving extra expenditure being made in the current Budget. The Current Account deficit from the UPA 2’s five year figure of 3.3% with a high of 5.6% has fallen during this period to an average of 1.5%. Similarly, external debt to GDP has fallen from 23.9% to 20.5% till March, 2018. Foreign exchange reserves are comfortable at US$396 billion and touched an all-time high of US$ 425 billion. It is, therefore, obvious that India is being hailed as a bright spot in the global economy.
The Indian Middle Class
Shri Piyush Goyal has today made a significant announcement wherein income earners earning upto Rs. 5 lakhs have been exempted from payment of Income-tax. This effectively strengthens the great Indian Middle Class whose expansion of purchasing power holds the key for India’s future.
The immediate implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, the resolution of the long-pending OROP, improvement of the New Pension Scheme, grant of crores of loans under the MUDRA Scheme to aspirational entrepreneurs, provision for housing subsidies for Middle Income Group, downward reduction of both direct and indirect taxes, containing the double digit inflation left by the UPA to what is now a little over 2% itself brings relief to the middle class.
However, in each of the Budget’s of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government, there has been significant relief to India’s middle class. The tax exemption limit was first raised from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 2.5 lakhs. Thereafter, without altering the slabs, people earning upto Rs. 3 lakhs were exempted from payment of taxes. In a further calibrated move, those in the income bracket of Rs.3 to 5 lakhs witnessed their tax liability being halved from 10% to 5% and today this category has been completely exempted. To this, if the other tax reliefs under the Income-tax Act are added, the number of beneficiaries will further rise. For payment of interest on housing loans, the deduction limit was expanded from Rs. 1.5 to Rs. 2 lakhs. The section 80C deduction limit was expanded from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh. The Government believes that salary-paid employees whether in the Government or in the private sector are an honest set of tax assesses. Their entire tax is deducted at source. Last year the Government restored the benefit of Standard Deduction to them at Rs.40,000/-. This year this benefit is being extended to Rs.50,000/-. For Senior Citizens, the limit for benefits accruing on account of health care, tax payment and insurance is higher. Thus if all these benefits given to India’s Neo-Middle Class and Middle Class are added, a person earning about Rs. 8 lakhs a year can get away by paying almost no tax.
As the tax base increases, which it has, the Government’s abilities in future years to move in this direction will further increase.
The GST was enforced 19 months ago. It has already brought down most taxes on goods from 31% tax to the 18%, 12% and the 5% bracket. Never in the history of India during the five year tenure of a Government, we have witnessed tax reduction and a Middle Class relief of this magnitude. Lower taxes, higher base and larger collections are the high point of the past five years. This has been made possible because an anti-corruption regime made non-compliance more difficult.
Inflation being contained from a Double-digit inflation during the UPA Government to be within the mandated range of 4% itself has led to the reduction of interest rates which also has provided relief to those seeking credit for building houses and other economic activities.
A recent global study has shown that India’s Middle Class from 18% in 2005 expanded to 29% in 2015 and will reach 44% in 2025. We want this direction to not only continue but to be further expedited putting more money in the pockets of the Middle Class will ensure this.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure does not recognise caste, creed or religion. It is a facility that the State provides to all. We are today the fastest highway developer in the world. Our port sector both in the government and the private sector is expanding its capacity and making large profits. On the Civil Aviation front, we are amongst the fastest growing Civil Aviation economies of the world with already 100 functional airports. Our national Inland Waterways have been put to effective use. The Indian Railways are not only expanding each day but improving upon quality of their services and performance. Our power sector has expanded its capacity to ensure that every household has an electricity connection. Our current emphasis on non-conventional energy is producing results. Each of the last five year’s Budgets has expanded the expenditure on infrastructure. The Interim Budget maintains the same direction.
The poor
The Government has been guided by Gandhi ji’s Talisman, “Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it?”.
The Government valued the above dictum and worked in that direction from day one. India’s Financial Inclusion program the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been globally recognized. The Unique Identification ensured that pilferages, leakages and misuse of Government support programmes does not take place. The money spent from this was also directed at the poor. The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeewan Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana were all an extension of this inclusion programme. The urban and rural AAWAS Yojanas have ensured that by 2022 there should not be a single roofless family in India. The right to food has been ensured by making the largest ever allocation for cheap ration to a large section of India’s population. Almost doubling the actual expenditure on MNREGA has ensured that the rural unemployed can get a livelihood source. To make the right of life respectable in a short span, the government ensured that the overwhelming number of rural houses get sanitation. The BPL families are switching over to the cooking gas. Every willing household has been connected with electricity.
The last five years have seen liberalization of the criterion and eligibility of Bonus, Gratuity and several other benefits by India’s working class. In the same direction is the major scheme ensuring a pension of Rs. 3,000/- to each unorganized sector worker. The employee and the Government would make an equal contribution. Effectively, it is one more step in the direction of making India a greater pensioned society to ensure social security.
The political act of the Government to provide a 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections of the non-reserved category in educational institutions and jobs. The Government healthcare programme Aayushman Bharat has been globally recognized. 40% of India’s population encompassing the weakest is now entitled to hospital treatment free upto Rs. 5 lakhs a year at State cost. The Government’s concern for naming 115 under-developed Districts as the aspirational Districts has been guided by the Antyodaya philosophy.
Conventionally, the poor of this country were bluffed by attractive slogans which had short-term impact and no lasting value. As observed by Nobel Laureate Gary Becker that poverty perpetuates not because poor are no less capable than the rich but because the poor can be habituated for making myopic choices because of the daily constraints that force them to always focus on survival.
India’s poor only got the benefit of slogans in the past. Today they have seen resources being actually transferred to them. They are today all candidates who are aspiring to enter the neo-Middle Class.
Agriculture
Last year in the Budget, the Government had announced that the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission would be implemented and every farmer would be entitled to get 50% more than his input cost. Prof. Swaminathan himself has appreciated the Government decision. The others had only promised it, the Government delivered it. However, in view of the inadequacy of the procurement system in certain States, many farmers did not get the full benefit and had to sell their produce at softer prices. The Government has made massive efforts to improve the quality of rural life. It has enhanced agricultural credit, ensured a crop insurance scheme, enhanced investments in irrigation and still the requirements of the economy are that the Indian farmer who gives us the surplus produce deserves a lot more. The farmer’s welfare cannot wait. In another step in this direction, the Budget has announced today a significant income support scheme for every small and marginal land owning family involved in agriculture. They will each be entitled to a sum of Rs. 6,000/- anually. This will be a major step to put more money in the pockets of our food producers. This necessarily expand the Government expenditure in the FY 2018-19 as also in the future years. This has had marginal impact on our projections of the fiscal deficit but we are confident of being on the glide path as per the recommendations of the FRBM Committee. Improving the lot of the Indian farmer and adding to his purchasing power in the long run will help the economy much more than the expenditure being undertaken.
The future vision
The future vision is to make India a Five Trillion Dollar economy. By the middle of the next decade we will achieve this and thereafter, target doubling that size of the economy. With the present growth rates, we are on track to achieve this. This involves a commitment to make sure that we work for every Indian and not just for the unduly privileged dynasties. We envisage an India where poverty is eliminated, the Eastern regions of India grow at par with other parts of the country, rural India having urban-like facilities, and that female employment in India in the formal sector expeditiously increases. Challenges of the future are going to be met by special emphasis on food processing, green energy, health care, world-class educational institutions, multiplying tourism potential, global quality infrastructure, making India a hub of electronic manufacturing, textile and apparel with a special focus on organic farming and non-conventional energy. More modern cities and urban renewal will be the focus.
We are growing at a rate faster than other comparable economies. We are proud of our performance. Yet we are impatient. We wish to grow faster than even our present status of the world’s fastest growing economy so that we can cover up for the missed historical opportunities.
Finally a Response
Two comments have recently been made by various individuals. The first relating to job creation in the economy and the second on the impact of demonetization on the GDP.
The last five years have seen an average of about 7.5% real GDP growth. If the inflation figure is added to this, the nominal growth, on an average will be between 11.5 to 12%. Is it possible to conceive that such high nominal growth despite controlled inflation will not lead to any job creation. Several datas including the EPFO data have given a detailed indication of the job creation. If there is no job creation, as alleged, there should have logically been a great social unrest in the country. Past five years have passed off without a single major protest movement.
There were no globally established models on the immediate impact of demonetization on the GDP growth. The former Prime Minister’s statement that it will lead to a 2% drop in the GDP captured the imagination of the Government’s critics. Neither the original data for 2016-17 and 2017-18 nor the first revision proved that. When India had a large parallel economy we were all told that our growth figures do not correctly capture the GDP growth because a lot of activity takes place outside the formal economy. When demonetization led to depositing the entire cash into the banking system and led many future transactions to be more recordable, logically the GDP had to grow post-demonetisation. The impact of demonetization could only be transient as the Government always maintained. The present data conclusively establishes this. This is further fortified by the high tax collections both in the direct and indirect taxes during 2016-17 and 2017-18, Tax payments do not rise when the economy is not adequately expanding. Growth figures are based on estimates, tax collections are real.
Posted on 30 January, 2019, No Comments Comments admin
With the passing away of the veteran socialist leader George Fernandes, India has lost a political colossus. George was a politician with a difference. He had the ability to stand alone, take a position, however extreme, and sustain that position. He was a political worker, an extra-ordinary leader, a powerful Trade Unionist, a Parliamentarian that many would dread to face and above all a dissenter. In the early 70s, when I was a student, George was one of the most charismatic speakers, much wanted to address campus audiences. My familiarity with him started at that time and I had an opportunity to work with him both in opposition and in Government.
The 1967 South-Bombay Elections
George saheb once narrated to me his story, the entire tale of 1967 South-Bombay elections. That election would be an education for any student of psephology or electoral politics. Shri S. K. Patil was the unquestioned leader of Mumbai, then Bombay. He was a Union Minister and Congress party’s Treasurer. He had won his South-Bombay seat several times by large margins. Nobody believed that Patil could ever be defeated, till a 36 year old President of the Bombay Taxi Union, George Fernandes, announced that he would challenge Patil in the elections. All the opposition parties supported George. George’s first task was to make people realize that Patil was not invincible. Posters, banners, stickers on the taxies, outside apartments were put up, all carrying one line “Patil can be defeated”. Once the campaign picked up and became the talk of the town, the media asked S. K. Patil for his comments on the same. Patil inappropriately replied “Only God can defeat me”. Prompt came the response campaign of George. The next slogan was “God does not vote, only you do. So, only you can defeat Patil”.
The voters dislike arrogance and defeating Patil became the flavor. With the support of the opposition and the Unions, George secured a victory and entered Parliament. He quickly made a mark as a Parliamentarian, a great speaker in atleast seven languages. A phenomenon very rare in India.
JP Movement and the Railway Strike
Post Mrs. Indira Gandhi sweeping to power in 1971, George became an active part since 1974 of the JP Movement. Bihar had always been an important political constituency for both the socialists and George Fernandes. He concentrated on his Trade Unions and became the head of the Railway Unions. In 1974, he called for a Railway Strike for the working conditions of the railway-men. This has been one of the most tense Trade Union agitations ever in India. The entire country was hearing the slogan “Rail ka chakka jaam karenge”. The events of 1974 and those which followed culminated in the imposition of Emergency.
Emergency
The Emergency witnessed multiple reactions. Most institutions caved in. This included the judiciary, the media and the civil services. Only some outliers in these were the dissenters. Many political workers got scared and preferred inactivity, some even issued statements supporting the Emergency. The bolder political opposition workers protested and went to prisons. George Fernandes believed in militant opposition to the Emergency. Many felt that the idea of a militant opposition to the Emergency was misconceived but George was a man with his own mind. He believed that this was the only course. His opposition was shattered and, along with his colleagues, he was arrested and prosecuted.
George’s idealism overtook political pragmatism when on 19th January, 1977, Mrs. Indira Gandhi announced the holding of the General Elections. All the political prisoners in Tihar Jail had a meeting. George was in Ward No. 17. Some of us were in Ward No. 1. We all were allowed to assemble in Ward No. 2 for political consultations. While everybody else favoured participation and contesting of elections, George was a dissenter. He wanted to boycott the 1977 Elections. He believed that this was going to be a make-belief farcical election through which Indira Gandhi would earn legitimacy and continue her dictatorship and hence the opposition by contesting must not give legitimacy to the Elections. Though in a hopeless minority, George stood to his position.
Janata Party was formed immediately and it decided its candidates and George was chosen to contest from Bihar. He declined to sign on the Nomination Papers. It finally took Morarji Desai, who came to the Tiz Hazari Courts (where George used to come for his trials), with a set of Nomination Papers, to get George to sign them so that he could contest from prison. George eventually yielded and signed his nomination papers. Results were declared and George won the Election by a huge margin. The Janata Party formed the Government with Morarji Bhai as the Prime Minister. A perpetual rebel, George’s first reaction was to decline to join the Cabinet. He again misjudged the public mood. I remember George being gheraoed by 500 political workers at New Delhi’s VP House and being compelled to yield in the face of hostile slogans to join the Cabinet.
The fall of the Janata Party Government was a Chapter in the life of George that he would like to forget. He delivered in Parliament, the most eloquent defence of the Government, only to quit the next day under pressure from his other socialist colleagues Raj Narain and Madhu Limaye.
While in the opposition, George spent the rest of his next decade in opposition championing the issues of the farmers, Trade Unions and finally Bofors. He was one of the leading campaigners against corruption in the Rajiv Gandhi era. His attacks on the Government were perhaps the most aggressive ones. He had built a reputation as being both a master of facts and languages.
Defence Minister and the False Allegations
In the NDA Government, headed by Mr. Vajpayee, George as the Convenor of the NDA was one of the architects of alliance formation. Even his worst critics would not attempt to level allegations of corruption against him. Yet twice as a Defence Minister, once during the Tehelka Tapes and second in relation to the CAG Report relating to the purchase of the Coffins, false allegations of corruption were leveled against him. A Commission of Enquiry in the Tehelka Tape issue vindicated George. The Coffingate Report was an absurdity. Metallic coffins were called costlier by comparing their costs with wooden coffins. Two unequal commodities do not cost the same.
George led the most austere of lives. He washed his own clothes, cleaned his own utensils. He never owned a Television, till a well-wisher insisted that he needed to have one. His books and files lay scattered on the floor in his house till some friends made arrangements to get him some ordinary book shelves. He took up causes which nobody espoused and pursued them with all vigour. Ministers were scared of facing the wrath of his attack when he was in the Opposition. But eventually his health took better of him. The slowing down of his mind and various faculties could be seen towards 2003-04. He still had full comprehension but that aggression was lacking. I noticed this during a GOM in the last days of the Vajpayee Government.
During 2005 Bihar elections, Advani ji on behalf of the BJP announced Nitish Kumar to be the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDA. We, in the BJP, felt that this was logical and would also help us in unseating Lalu Yadav’s regime. A murmur of protest came from George. When I went to meet him, I realized, because of failing health, he had not realized the full implication of his reaction. His parliamentary tenure in Lok Sabha ended in 2009. He needed an official accommodation for some more time. Nitish Kumar graciously put him up as a candidate in a bye-election for Rajya Sabha where George entered the Upper House for the first time.
His oath taking showed his state of health. He could politically no longer contribute. He needed help and assistance at every stage. The tiger had been tamed but his escapades would be remembered for a long time. George Fernandes was a parliamentarian for several terms. He was a Union Minister thrice. But he will be remembered for several agitations he lead, several positions he took and several causes he represented.
Epilogue
George Fernandes was the last of the veteran Lohiaites. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, George Saheb’s mentor represented the anti-Nehru, anti-Congress face of Indian politics. After the 1962 General Elections and the China war debacle, Dr. Lohia gave to this country the famous slogan “Congress hatao desh bachao”. This led to an anti-Congress alliance. The first step was that Dr. Lohia, Acharya Kripalani and Deendayal ji became the joint opposition candidates in three bye-elections to the Lok Sabha. The then Jana Sangh President Dr. Raghu Vira lost his life in a road accident while campaigning in these elections. However, in the post-Dr. Lohia era, with the emergence of the BJP as the principal pole of Indian politics, many Lohiaites shed their inhibition and started doing political business with the Congress. The Left was not far behind. They called it re-polarisation. One honorable exception was George Fernandes. He was a born Lohiaite and he died as one. His anti-Congress moorings were never compromised.