Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has once again alleged that the Opposition leaders have been aiding those who assassinated his mother Indira Gandhi and collaborating with the Khalistani secessionists.
The occasion was when he was faced with some inconvenient questions in Parliament. The appointment of R.K. Dhawan as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat was followed by the publication of certain excerpts of the report of the Thakkar Commission which pointed to a “needle of suspicion” towards him. The Opposition then compelled the Prime Minister to announce that the full report of the Commission shall be placed before parliament though only part of it was so placed.
The persistence of the Opposition in demanding the presentation of the Special Investigation Team headed by Police Officer Anand Tam which had exonerated RK. Dhawan provoked the Prime Minister. He was being asked to explain that if the SIT had found Justice Thakkar’s suspicions up-founded, how was it that SIT’s head was the same officer who had been assisting Justice Thakkar when he came to his conclusions about Shri Dhawan. He had also to justify the later appointment of Justice Thakkar as one of the two Judges in probing the appointment of Fairfax by the Finance Ministry, and still later as Chairman of the Law Commission. He had also to clarify as to why he had held that all investigations had been completed and, therefore the report could be placed before Parliament while his Home Minister had contradicted him.
Gandhi, who appears to believe that attack is the best defence, launched a broadside against the Opposition. A month ago too, he had done the same when the extension given to Mohan Katre, the chief of the CBI, was questioned, and it was asked whether the series Rendered by him in cases relating to Bofors gun deal or Fairfax had earned him the extension. For that matter, in the Monsoon session of Parliament last year, the government’s failure in the resistance against the Defamation Bill had spurred him on to attack Madhu Dandavate for helping pro-Khalistani elements.
Rajiv Gandhi had desisted from making such criticism of the Opposition in 1985 and 1986 and in the first few months of 1987. During the election campaigns in the Legislative Assembly elections in Punjab and Assam in 1985, he was on a different wave length. Even in the campaign in West Bengal or Kerala legislature elections in March 1987 he confined his attack to the performance of Jyoti Basu’s Left Front government. Successive defeats inflicted on his party in Punjab, Assam, West Bengal and Kerala had failed to change his mood.
But this equanimity of the Prime Minister in the first 30 months of his governance was totally transformed into blatant belligerence when in April 1987, allegations surfaced about his close friends. Amitabh Bachhan and Satish Sharma and the Bofors gun deal appeared to be casting a shadow on his own reputation. Since then he was a very different person. In May that year, he accused the opposition of working for destablisation. After that, he had dubbed it 8S prosecessionist elements, supporters of antinational forces and abettors of conspirators out to dismember the country. This has not become a set pat seems, developed a conditioned reflex, whenever allegations were made about his close personal friends or about himself, he would repeat, compulsively that the Opposition was busy selling the country or betraying her best interests. On those occasions, considerations of propriety or parliamentary decorum or norms of democratic conduct are utterly meaningless for him.
After Smt. Gandhi’s assassination, a grief stricken nation was inundated by a sympathy wave for her bereaved family; Shri Rajiv Gandhi had started to display intolerance. He appeared to condone the barbaric killings of large numbers of a particular community in Delhi and other cities by saying that when a big tree fell, the earth surrounding it would naturally experience shocks. This was within a week after those unfortunate happenings had subsided. Within weeks, later he peeped up his election campaign by accusing the Opposition. Then he alleged that Opposition had indulged in such character assassination of the bereaved Prime Minister which had facilitated her physical liquidation.
That was resented too strongly as unfair and inappropriate but it was considered as no more than an election gimmick. But during the Current session, that charge has been repeated with some embellishment. Now, again, we are quite near a parliamentary general election. There shall be sufficient reason for the Prime Minister to hark on this blasphemy and characterize his detractor as antinational elaborators of traitors and secessionist supporters of Assam’s agents of foreign conspirators and partners in subversion and destablisation. There may be much more.
Another theme which is being actively pursued once again reminiscent of the scenario in 1984. Threats against non-Congress (I) governments are being increasingly held out. In Andhra Pradesh caste violence was assiduously fanned. In Tamil Nadu certain incidents in the newly constituted Assembly have led a Union Minister Dinesh Singh to call for the dismissal of Karunanidhi led government. In Assam all encouragement is being given to the Bodos agitation. The agitation has led to the disruption of essential supplies to the neighboring northeastern States which has given an excuse to Shri Rajiv Gandhi to thunder against AGP’s government led by Prafulla Mahanta.
Then Smt. Gandhi’s government on the advice of some operators including Rajiv Gandhi and RK. Dhawan had dismissed the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Now as Shri Dhawan has rejoined Shri Rajiv Gandhi, this theme is being Set out more boldly and more blatantly, although much too deftly and deviously. But it would not be correct to ascribe its authorship to Shri Dhawan. For even before his return to the Prime Minister’s office some of the Governors were being encouraged to play the Congress (I)’s game. This unconstitutional device stands even further exposed as the transfer of Prof. Nurul Hassan from the Raj Bhawan in Calcutta to the Raj Bhawan of Bhubaneshwar has also been ascribed to the Centre’s displeasure at his correct behavior towards the State Government.
Yet, Ms. Kumadben in Hyderabad and Smt Ram Dulari Sinha in Trivandrum are duly harassing their State Government. Now an old police hand Shri Rajeshwar has been sent to West Bengal as Governor. There is no knowing whether he a bureaucrat too, shall act in as brazenly partisan ways as the party persons like Ms. Joshi and Smt Sinha. Moreover it is premature to judge whether the 1984 model shall be repeated in action.
Yetm the provocations appear to be strong enough. Unlike 1984, a viable unity of the centrist Opposition parties has taken place in the Janata Dal. This unity is going to be strengthened by the induction of the followers of the late H.N Bahuguna. The Janata Dal has Close alliance with the three regional parties which govern Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as also with the Congress (s) in the National Front. The latter provides a formidable challenge to the Congress (1) in the National Front. Hence, some preemptive strikes to unsettle this alliance might be considered a good tactics by the logie that attack is the best defence.
But then, the National Front’s State Governments must also be very cautious and not commit any mistakes which could be exploited.
The Congress (I) leadership could also exploit another weakness of the Opposition. The new messiadic zeal with which BJP has donned the aggressive Hindu communal garb comes most handy to the ruling party at a time when leadership amongst Muslims too, is short sighted. Ina situation made by the prolonged dispute in Ayodha or the unfortunate statements justifying Salman Rushdie, the power lust of the ruling coterie could see its best chance in a series of communal card for electoral gains. This possible stratagem too should be anticipated and prompted.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 13, 1989
