The elections are over. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is out. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is in. Politics has completely changed. Let us see how.
Now the Parivar will not hamper the PM at each step. Now Advani will not sidle up to Vajpayee with the latest message from Nagpur. Now Vajpayee will not helplessly change course because a remote control is at work.
Instead we will have the Dynasty to guide the PM at each step. There will be no need for a middleman to carry messages. Soniaji herself will sit right next to the PM, look over his shoulder and breathe down his neck. And Manmohan Singh will change course much more willingly because the remote control will be far less remote.
Now the public won't have to complain about Advani, M.M. Joshi, Uma Bharati and other chargesheeted ministers continuing in office while their court cases proceed. Instead the public can complain about Laloo Yadav, Taslimuddin, and the rest who continue in office as their court cases proceed.
But these public complaints are superfluous. As Dr Manmohan Singh, our learned Prime Minister from Oxford, explained: "If there are cases going on in the courts, the government will do nothing to affect the course of such cases." The good doctor also spoke a profound truth by pointing out that a man is presumed innocent till proved guilty and convicted. Alas, in his quest for knowledge at Oxford the learned doctor seems to have overlooked that chargesheeted ministers must demit office not because they are guilty but because a credible investigation or judicial process against them is possible only when they are out of office.
Dr Singh's explanation of tainted ministers in his cabinet was flawless. He said the previous government had chargesheeted ministers too. This very powerful argument defies refutation. Years ago, when Dr Singh gave a false affidavit to enter Rajya Sabha, the same argument held: "Everybody else is doing it too!" The new government therefore will maintain the hallowed Indian tradition of appointing tainted ministers. Change with continuity is our motto!
The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) will serve its purpose by allowing editorial writers and columnists to argue furiously over its finer points. Of course, in the end, this won't matter. We have the other hallowed tradition of not implementing written pledges. Stock exchange brokers can play merry with the sensex for their own profit. They know and we know that no CMP will ever really change things on the ground.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
