About a month ago I was on a flight to the national capital -New Delhi. I was settled in very comfortably in my seat with Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Why I am a Hindu’ for company. (Now, whether you agree, entirely, in part, or otherwise, with his opinion/s doesn’t matter; what does is that his language makes reading such a delight!). After some 70 minutes of being airborne the pilot made an announcement that we would be turning back since they had encountered a problem with the air conditioning system. As I began to quickly chalk out alternative plans due this sudden change in my situation, I heard a commotion among the other passengers – “why return?”, “why not Hyderabad or Mumbai?”, “ we’ve flown this long anyway and it’s just a matter of another hour or so”, “why must we turn back for a few who complain”, and the suggestion that almost shook me off my chair – “let’s decide by a show of hands whether we should turn back or not”! Duh!
I really admired the cabin crew for handling the situation with such aplomb (and made it a point to compliment them later): “Sir, we cannot risk someone facing a health emergency”, she said, plainly, but tersely enough to indicate that the subject wasn’t open to discussion, certainly not midair! All this while I had a Plan B ready in my head; after all, it was the pilot who was the best judge of the situation and we had to simply trust his discretion and it became obvious, from the way the airlines had made alternate arrangements, that the pilot had taken the decision to return to Bengaluru after ensuring a plan was in place. It was a seamless process and though we had a setback of a few hours in our schedule, we were all safe.
Cut to the elections in my home State of Karnataka. The entire campaign was so personality centric; which doesn’t surprise me anymore, really. Developmental issues and governance take a back seat in such narratives and Caste and personal barbs become the pivotal points in noisy campaigns. Of course, being an upper caste (read Brahmin), pseudo intellectual (read educated-opinionated), pseudo liberal (read liberal Nationalist ), I don’t figure in the Caste matrix drawn by the parties. Thankfully, the Constitution of my country has protected my privilege to be a part of the system through the Universal Adult Franchise.
Much of what happened is now history. But history must never be dismissed; it must be carefully documented. For, hidden within the edifices of its construct, are invaluable lessons for us to learn, remember and recall at the appropriate time. The results threw up a hung verdict, which many of us had expected anyway. The Shah – Modi campaign in Hindi, albeit fervent, didn’t strike a chord with the people of this South Indian State that had quite vociferously rejected signboards in Hindi. Neither did Yogiji’s presence create an impact – what works in U.P. will not work in any of the States this side of the Vindhyas, least of all in Karnataka which contributes a huge chunk to the Central kitty, and, along with the other Southern States, ranks among the best with regard to HDI. The truth of the ‘Gujarat Story’ was accepted as merely being a great marketing campaign, neatly packaged and delivered by the combined minds of Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Joshi and an ever willing media that simply looks out more for a story for the masses than unravelling the truth.
On a subject of political principles, a deliberate oxymoron, I’m not sure if the Prime Minister should continue to be the electoral mascot in all assembly elections. Aside from the fact that governance suffers – remember the Attorney General, K.K.Venugopal, telling the Honourable SC that the government had no time to draft the Cauvery water sharing scheme (which in itself was a poll issue), as directed by the SC, “since the P.M. and other senior ministers were busy campaigning in the poll bound State of Karnataka” – it remains a pertinent point to be debated and deliberated upon as to whether the P.M. must be so actively involved in campaigning, at the cost of undermining local leadership. The P.M. has, in the context of pushing the One Nation One Election reform, admitted that being in a continuous ‘state of elections’ due to various Assembly election schedules that our Federal system throws up, does take away from governance. This matter, though, remains in the realms of legal, political and public debate. Until such time, we shall have to contend with the B.J.P. depending on its ‘most charismatic leader’ to garner votes even if it is at the cost of the popularity of local leaders. Case in point: Yediyurappa was barely allowed to campaign in his own constituency, the party depending heavily on the Hindi speaking Shah-Modi duo. Shah is a strategist. But this time around, the Congress beat him at his own game.
The Governor became the protagonist in the drama revolving around the formation of the government, in the backdrop of the hung verdict. The B.J.P.’s script was carefully written, keeping in mind all the previous roles played by the protagonist and his co-actors in all such. Yet, the Governor fell short in delivering a success.
The Governor enjoys immunity against judicial proceedings and enjoys the power of discretion to carry out his/her duties. This does not imply that his/her decisions aren’t subject to judicial reviews.
In this case, in carrying out his duties, the Governor had to ensure that, a) a stable government can be put in place and b) in ensuring (a), he does not trigger the defection of MLAs -elect against the 10th schedule of the Constitution.
In inviting the B.J.P., the single largest party with 103 MLAs, to form the government, and allowing a period of 15 days before a floor test, the Governor made a gross miscalculation in exercising his discretion. The Congress was quick to react and the Honourable SC just in allowing a hearing in the wee hours of the morning, to uphold the tenants of the Constitution. What followed was a desperate attempt on the part of the B.J.P. to have MLAs-elect jump the fence, taking advantage of the grey areas surrounding the application of the anti-defection laws to members who aren’t sworn in.
I am not sure if the coalition government sworn in will last its term. Politics is a tough game to predict outcomes. The Governor’s exercise of his ‘discretion’ is going to be a topic for discussion among the many other things that are going to be argued within the sacrosanct walls of the Honourable SC.
Defying discretion seems easier than defining it! For now, suffice to remember that discretion, they say, is the better part of valour.
If reports are to be believed, the B.J.P. left no stone unturned in trying to entice the newly elected members of the legislature from the rival political parties to switch allegiance - tales of 'abduction' and 'confinement' were spun around generously. All this left the members of the Congress and the JD(S) quite anxious!
I really admired the cabin crew for handling the situation with such aplomb (and made it a point to compliment them later): “Sir, we cannot risk someone facing a health emergency”, she said, plainly, but tersely enough to indicate that the subject wasn’t open to discussion, certainly not midair! All this while I had a Plan B ready in my head; after all, it was the pilot who was the best judge of the situation and we had to simply trust his discretion and it became obvious, from the way the airlines had made alternate arrangements, that the pilot had taken the decision to return to Bengaluru after ensuring a plan was in place. It was a seamless process and though we had a setback of a few hours in our schedule, we were all safe.
Cut to the elections in my home State of Karnataka. The entire campaign was so personality centric; which doesn’t surprise me anymore, really. Developmental issues and governance take a back seat in such narratives and Caste and personal barbs become the pivotal points in noisy campaigns. Of course, being an upper caste (read Brahmin), pseudo intellectual (read educated-opinionated), pseudo liberal (read liberal Nationalist ), I don’t figure in the Caste matrix drawn by the parties. Thankfully, the Constitution of my country has protected my privilege to be a part of the system through the Universal Adult Franchise.
Much of what happened is now history. But history must never be dismissed; it must be carefully documented. For, hidden within the edifices of its construct, are invaluable lessons for us to learn, remember and recall at the appropriate time. The results threw up a hung verdict, which many of us had expected anyway. The Shah – Modi campaign in Hindi, albeit fervent, didn’t strike a chord with the people of this South Indian State that had quite vociferously rejected signboards in Hindi. Neither did Yogiji’s presence create an impact – what works in U.P. will not work in any of the States this side of the Vindhyas, least of all in Karnataka which contributes a huge chunk to the Central kitty, and, along with the other Southern States, ranks among the best with regard to HDI. The truth of the ‘Gujarat Story’ was accepted as merely being a great marketing campaign, neatly packaged and delivered by the combined minds of Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Joshi and an ever willing media that simply looks out more for a story for the masses than unravelling the truth.
On a subject of political principles, a deliberate oxymoron, I’m not sure if the Prime Minister should continue to be the electoral mascot in all assembly elections. Aside from the fact that governance suffers – remember the Attorney General, K.K.Venugopal, telling the Honourable SC that the government had no time to draft the Cauvery water sharing scheme (which in itself was a poll issue), as directed by the SC, “since the P.M. and other senior ministers were busy campaigning in the poll bound State of Karnataka” – it remains a pertinent point to be debated and deliberated upon as to whether the P.M. must be so actively involved in campaigning, at the cost of undermining local leadership. The P.M. has, in the context of pushing the One Nation One Election reform, admitted that being in a continuous ‘state of elections’ due to various Assembly election schedules that our Federal system throws up, does take away from governance. This matter, though, remains in the realms of legal, political and public debate. Until such time, we shall have to contend with the B.J.P. depending on its ‘most charismatic leader’ to garner votes even if it is at the cost of the popularity of local leaders. Case in point: Yediyurappa was barely allowed to campaign in his own constituency, the party depending heavily on the Hindi speaking Shah-Modi duo. Shah is a strategist. But this time around, the Congress beat him at his own game.
The Governor became the protagonist in the drama revolving around the formation of the government, in the backdrop of the hung verdict. The B.J.P.’s script was carefully written, keeping in mind all the previous roles played by the protagonist and his co-actors in all such. Yet, the Governor fell short in delivering a success.
The Governor enjoys immunity against judicial proceedings and enjoys the power of discretion to carry out his/her duties. This does not imply that his/her decisions aren’t subject to judicial reviews.
In this case, in carrying out his duties, the Governor had to ensure that, a) a stable government can be put in place and b) in ensuring (a), he does not trigger the defection of MLAs -elect against the 10th schedule of the Constitution.
In inviting the B.J.P., the single largest party with 103 MLAs, to form the government, and allowing a period of 15 days before a floor test, the Governor made a gross miscalculation in exercising his discretion. The Congress was quick to react and the Honourable SC just in allowing a hearing in the wee hours of the morning, to uphold the tenants of the Constitution. What followed was a desperate attempt on the part of the B.J.P. to have MLAs-elect jump the fence, taking advantage of the grey areas surrounding the application of the anti-defection laws to members who aren’t sworn in.
I am not sure if the coalition government sworn in will last its term. Politics is a tough game to predict outcomes. The Governor’s exercise of his ‘discretion’ is going to be a topic for discussion among the many other things that are going to be argued within the sacrosanct walls of the Honourable SC.
Defying discretion seems easier than defining it! For now, suffice to remember that discretion, they say, is the better part of valour.
If reports are to be believed, the B.J.P. left no stone unturned in trying to entice the newly elected members of the legislature from the rival political parties to switch allegiance - tales of 'abduction' and 'confinement' were spun around generously. All this left the members of the Congress and the JD(S) quite anxious!
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