People's Democracy

THE announcement by the Left parties of the fielding of Dr. (Capt.) Lakshmi Sahgal as the candidate for the post of president is the Left's response to the emerging political situation. It is a scenario in which, on the one hand the ruling NDA led by the BJP maneouvred to impose its will, and on the other hand, the main opposition party, the Congress, despite initial indications of putting up a fight, abandoned the fight and fell in line to support the NDA nominee.

With all respect to Dr. Abdul Kalam, whose contribution to the development of the country's missile programme is acknowledged and honoured, the fact remains that he is a candidate propped up by the BJP. He was however, not their first choice either. After having failed to gain acceptability for its nominee, PC Alexander, the governor of Maharashtra, from within sections of its own party and the NDA, the BJP gave the impression that it was ready to elevate vice-president Krishna Kant, a suggestion which was acceptable to the opposition as well. But the BJP backed out from its commitment and propped up Dr. Kalam's name.

While the Congress and the People's Front favoured a second term for Shri K R Narayanan, the BJP was not inclined, for obvious reasons. The prime minister displayed his contempt by bluntly telling the president that they were not in favour of his continuance in office for another term. Shri Narayanan, who was yet to make up his mind, rightly opted out, after the discourteous manner in which the ruling combine's opposition to his likely candidature was conveyed.

Faced with stiff opposition from the Congress party and the People's Front, the BJP communicated that it was ready to accept the proposal of the TDP to make vice president Krishna Kant as the next president. All major parties had more or less agreed to this proposal. The PMO had actually conveyed to the Congress its decision to elevate the vice-president. After evolving a consensus on his candidature, the BJP did a volte-face and came up with the name of Dr. Abdul Kalam. In this whole process, it has unnecessarily dragged in president K R Narayanan and the vice president Krishna Kant into a controversy. The motivated manner in which it treated the whole issue has left a bitter taste. During the course of the last four-odd years, the BJP-led NDA has adopted the ruse of a consensus, which was more of a smokescreen to camouflage its real intentions.

The Congress party finally caved in and decided to back Dr. Kalam. This stance will affect its credibility and its capacity to put up a consistent opposition to the BJP. The Samajwadi Party, which was a constituent of the People's Front, as opposed to the views of the other constituents of the Front, also supported the candidature of Dr. Abdul Kalam. The SP had, as a constituent of the People's Front, supported K R Narayanan earlier.

It is against this background wherein the ruling party deliberately avoided a consensus and forced its nominee; and the failure of the main non-Left secular parties to carry forward the fight that has compelled the Left parties and other partners of the People's Front to put up their nominee.

In a situation, where the Congress has lost its monopoly of power and no single party has got a majority at the centre and various parties or combination of parties are ruling in the states, the role that the president has to play, despite the limited powers that the office holds, assumes importance. In a situation, where a rabidly communal party like the BJP is in power at the centre and the threat to the very unity of the country and its social fabric is real as revealed by the events in Gujarat, the significance of the office of the president does not need to be underlined.

The policies that the BJP-led NDA has been pursuing over the last four years has seen the ruling combination getting increasingly isolated from the people. This is reflected in the overwhelming defeats that the BJP and its allies have faced in the assembly elections held since its assumption of power at the centre.

Consequent to the policies pursued by the BJP-led government the country has been brought to the brink of a precipice. Its ruinous economic policies, dictated by the IMF-World Bank-WTO, have spelt unprecedented misery and burdens on the common people while at the same time handing out massive concessions to the affluent.

The attacks on the minorities continue unabated. In Gujarat, the state-sponsored pogrom against the Muslim minority went on for over four months and its perpetrators refused to stop the genocide despite its condemnation by the entire nation. The BJP refuses to acknowledge the distinct identity of the Kashmiri people and the necessity of Article 370 of the constitution and the demand for more autonomy. It is a party which is opposed to the very concept of federalism and linguistic states. During the last four years, there have been repeated attacks on these pillars of the constitution.

There has also been a basic change in our foreign policy orientation. Until the BJP assumed office, the country had been following a foreign policy of non-alignment, for world peace and complete nuclear disarmament, opposition to imperialism and support to liberation struggles. The BJP-led regime has dismantled this consensual foreign policy and put in place a policy which is pro-imperialist to the core and which has lowered the prestige of India in international fora.

While the Congress and the other secular opposition parties have been opposing the policies that endanger national unity and promote hatred between different religious communities, they have been more than vocal in their support to the economic policies of liberalisation and privatisation pursued by this government. It is only the Left which has waged a comprehensive and uncompromising struggle against the whole gamut of policies pursued by the BJP-led NDA.

The candidature of Dr. (Capt.) Lakshmi Sahgal has to be seen as a continuation and natural corollary of this struggle against the policies and programmes of this government which is harmful to the country's interests and people's welfare. It once again exposes before the Indian people, the role played by the other opposition parties in the struggle against this government. The candidature of Dr. (Capt.) Lakshmi Sahgal is as much to put forth the Left and democratic point of view as to oppose the policies and programmes of the NDA.

As stated earlier, the Left is not opposed to Dr. Kalam as such. But it has no knowledge of his political leanings or commitment. He is a renowned scientist-administrator no doubt, but the country is unaware about his political abilities. The Left and its allies are clear that the person elected to this office has a great political responsibility. He is the custodian of the constitution, protecting and safeguarding the secular democratic character of the Indian Republic. In a situation where the ruling combine seeks to dismiss democratically elected governments or in a situation where the secular principle has to be upheld, a person capable of upholding the tenets of the constitution should be in office.

There are enough indications from the BJP that the proposal of Dr. Kalam was its response to criticism over Gujarat. The people do not know about Dr. Kalam's views on Gujarat or for that matter on any other important political question facing the country.

The Samajwadi Party's role has been a disruptive one, though it now seeks to blame the Left for the break up of the People's Front. The SP had made up its mind even earlier. This was reflected in the way it went ahead with the by-elections to the Uttar Pradesh assembly. It formed another alliance in UP of which the Kranti Dal of former chief minister, Kalyan Singh and two other caste-based parties, were part. It was during Kalyan Singh's tenure as chief minister (he was in the BJP then) that the Babri Masjid was demolished. Unfortunately, the SP did not wish to consult the other constituents of the People's Front before adopting such a course. This is an indicator of its commitment to the Front. Without acknowledging this, they are hurling accusations and abuses against us. The Samajwadi Paty has adopted a political course which is contrary to the basic approach of the People's Front. Recently in parliament, we saw the spectacle of the SP leadership defending the finance minister, Yashwant Sinha, when he was charged with improper behaviour in relation to the Flex Industries. But it should be made clear that this is not the end of the People's Front. It will, as we had stated earlier, be reorganised.

Reviewing the situation after the departure of the Samajwadi Party, the Left parties in consultation with V P Singh and Deve Gowda came to the conclusion that this political fight has to be carried forward and we should put up our candidate. The proposal of Dr. (Capt.) Lakshmi Sahgal was unanimously agreed upon.

The entry of the Left into the contest is carrying forward the political struggle against the policies and programmes of the BJP-led NDA. It would have been better to let Dr. Kalam continue with his technological work, instead of depriving the country of his talents. The country is in a very complex political situation. It is incumbent that a person who comes into this office should be one who can grasp and comprehend the complexities of the political situation and function as the custodian of the Indian constitution and safeguard its secular democratic character.