The Usual Suspects

India Today
October 5, 1998

THE USUAL SUSPECTS
A Test of Democracy

Rabri Devi as the unlikely Statue of Liberty

Swapan Dasgupta

It was Devi Lal, that great epitome of earthy wisdom, who once asked, "Who reads manifestos?" It doesn't need an exhaustive survey to glean the answer. Yet for political parties, especially those grounded in principles, manifestos are more than decorative add-ons. They are indispensable points of reference, distinguishing the ideal from the expedient. For the BJP, the election manifesto serves an added function: it translates an entire belief system into practical politics. No wonder, this year's BJP manifesto began with an evocative quote from Sri Aurobindo defining the ideal India: "The exemplar of courage and humanity, the perfection of good government and settled society ... "

Judged by the most permissive of standards, Laloo Prasad Yadav's proxy administration in Bihar never corresponded to the ideal of a "good government". Nor was the creation of a "settled society" one of the RJD's cherished ideals. For the past three decades or so, Bihar has been a blot on India. It has come to symbolise everything that is rotten about the nation -- lawlessness, rampant corruption, administrative ineptitude and caste hatred. To talk of a constitutional breakdown in Bihar is meaningless; the Constitution never operated in the state. It was the law of the jungle. If there was hell on earth, it was Bihar.

It was bad enough for Bihar to just be itself. What compounded the perversion was the fact that the people of the state acquiesced in such a regime. The Government of Rabri Devi may not feature high on Transparency International's index of wholesome regimes, but it is an elected regime. It commands the support of a majority of MLAs and the RJD even has a majority of Lok Sabha MPs from the state. Unless it is shown to be guilty of either promoting secessionism or actually instigating civil strife, it has a right to be in place. Buffoonery and incompetence -- two visible characteristics of the state administration -- are not adequate grounds for dismissal. The Centre has no moral claim to impose its notions of civility, decorum and efficiency on an unwilling state. It violates all norms of federalism on which the Constitution rests. Democracy demands that Bihar be allowed to scale new heights of lumpen conduct as long as the electorate wills it.

Of course, the protests of the Congress and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) against the Centre's recommendation of President's rule are patently disingenuous. Had the BJP been in power in Bihar and the Congress or the RLM at the Centre, the Union Cabinet would have acted similarly. But moral equivalence cannot be cited as a justification. There are some principles of democratic conduct that are absolute and non-negotiable, even if they pass the rigorous scrutiny of Rashtrapati Bhavan. If Laloo is to be denied the masnad of Bihar, he has to be voted out first, either by the MLAs or in an election.

A lesson from Washington is instructive. President Bill Clinton has been shown to be a sinner, a philanderer and a liar. He may have even tried to subvert justice. The Republicans have the numbers in Congress to rush through an impeachment that is legally warranted. If they are going slow, it is because American public opinion still believes the President must be allowed to complete his term. Democracy is all about popular will.

Dickens had the right perspective. "It is always best on these occasions," Mr Pickwick said, "to do what the mob do." "But suppose there are two mobs?" suggested Mr Snodgrass. "Shout with the largest," replied Mr Pickwick.

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