THE INDIAN SCENE EPIDEMIC OF DEFECTIONS AFFLICTS STATES’ POLITICS

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31551, 13 December 1967, Page 20

THE INDIAN SCENE EPIDEMIC OF DEFECTIONS AFFLICTS STATES’ POLITICS

fßeprinted from the “Financial Times," London, by arrangement!

Over the last weeks, the political instability seen in India since last February s General Election has moved to a fresh and disturbing climax. Jt- n^ia s FI States—West Bengal and Haryana—the Coalition Ministries formed by parties other than the Congress have been dismissed In a third, Punjab, the non-Congress Chief Minister, driven to exasperation, has performed the miracle of resigning voluntarily instead of waiting to be pushed out. In at least two ethers—Uttar Pradesh and Bihar—the non-Congress Ministries are jogging along from day to day, never sure when they too may fail.

By no means is the list exhausted there. The Congress Ministries of Rajasthan and Gujarat are maintaining a facade of stability; but they know that it is only a facade which could crack as the Princes and their supporters break away in protest against the Congress Party’s campaign to abolish Privy purses and princely privileges. The nonCongress Ministry of Madhya Pradesh is faced with its own internal conflicts, as indeed is the Communist-led Ministry of Kerala, too. Cabinet Dissension To cap it all, Mrs Indira Gandhi’s own Cabinet at the centre is not exactly an affectionate band of faithful heroes; its leading members remain incorrigible exponents of the art of quiet and not so quiet intrigue. In the States, the source of instability is mainly legislators changing allegiances more often than their underwear and without the slightest regard for principle, ideology, Party or the most elementary of democratic decencies.

In the non-Congress States, with the notable exception of Madras, there is a second source of instability: running dogfights—again only remotely related to ideology or principle—among the political parties participating in the Coalition Ministries.

From this point of view, however, the Congress itself has by no means been a model of political virtue: its own faction fights continue to be conducted with a ferocity that would put cannibals to shame.

Defections In States Over the last nine months, few States, if any, have been entirely free of defections, actual or threatened. Innumerable legislators and politicians have crossed and recrossed the floors of legislatures in changing their political colours with a rapidity that chameleons would envy. The apotheosis of the whole movement was reached in Haryana in recent weeks where legislators began to change their allegiances almost literally from day to day, if not from hour to hour. No definite count has been made of how many or how often, but it is a sign of the times that within the last eight months 37 of Haryana’s 79

legislators have crossed the floor at least once. Four crossed the floor four times each and two did so twice in a single day. To match the performance, the erstwhile Chief Minister Rao Birendra Singh ultimately set new standards of political morality by announcing publicly that Ministerships would be available to suitable candidates from the Opposition if they cared to defect. So enthusiastic was the response that soon almost half the legislature was accommodated in a greatly expanded Ministry—to rule a State no bigger than a pocket handkerchief. Even so, some were dissatisfied that they had got only junior Ministerships when they clearly deserved the senior ones. They therefore started renegotiating with Birendra Singh’s opponents for the plums that would be offered if they helped the latter back into, power. Dance At An End If, in Haryana, the dance of the political prostitutes has come to an end for the time being with the imposition of Presidents rule last week the same cannot as yet be said of the other States.

In West Bengal—where the United Front Ministry dominated by the Left Communists was sacked the same day as the Haryana Ministry —the dance continues in all its pristine vigour. The new Chief Minister, Dr P. C. Ghosh, along with the 16 legilators said to be in his group, resigned from the United Front only three weeks ago. They, along with the Congress Party, are striving hard to secure more defections and thus gain a majority—before the State legislature meets for a trial of strength. If reports are to be believed neither their efforts nor those of their opponents have always taken the form of high-minded verbal persuasion. During the widespread rioting throughout West Bengal the efforts have been reinforced by violence if not murder and in some cases by the actual kidnapping and confinement of legislators. Precept And Practice Most of India’s political parties have expressed what they describe as their deep concern over the epidemic of defections. But not a single one has so far refused to receive defectors within its fold. On the contrary, with one or two possible exceptions they have all striven hard at different times and in different places to buy or bully the prostitutes parading on the Indian political scene today.

In denouncing defections, the Congress as always has pretended to be the most high-minded of the lot. For the 20 years it governed at the centre, and in almost all the States it said hardly a word on the subject, since defections were generally a one-way traffic—into the Congress, for that was where the spoils of power lay. Now that other parties are in a position to offer similar bonanzas the Congress is appalled to find that the traffic has become two-way. Chief Patrons But that has not altered the fact that Congressmen who claim to have inherited the mantle of Ghandi are among the chief patrons of political prostitution in India to-day. Nobody can say where all this will lead India in the end. In the nine months since the General Election, Ministries have fallen or frequently been on the point of collapse right across the heart of India — from West Bengal in the East to Rajasthan in the West. The relative stability on the southern States may be only ephemeral, considering that supposedly ideological disputes continue in the Kerala Ministry while linguistic or territorial disputes are undermining the strength of ministries elsewhere. Even if the fall of ministries in the southern states cannot be clearly forecast for the near future the cost in terms of energy wasted on such disputes remains incalculable. The possibility of defections leading in the longer term to the political or ideological polarisation of forces might have offered some consolation. But even that possibility cannot be clearly foreseen. Religion In Politics Perhaps the truth, as so often in the India of recent i years, belongs to the cynics who keep reminding their countrymen that politics here has traditionally been an exi tension of religious endeavour. ' The essence of today's politics is to be found not in Hindu Muslim or Hindu Sikh rivalries. It is to be found in the far more fascinating fact that temple prostitutes have since time immemorial been among the most engaging features of Indian religious life. ; Maybe the political priests of today are striving merely to adapt to modern times the patterns of life and thought which some of their religious ancestors of yesterday sought and established.

Perhaps in some such metaphysical reasoning is to be found a ray of hope for India’s future. For the gods, as they say, are always on the side of the devout.