February 16, 1998

Gujral, Narayanan, Kant: It's a Mutual Admiration Club.

Prabhu Chawla

What binds President K.R. Narayanan, Vice-President Krishan Kant and Prime Minister I.K. Gujral together? A common language: no. Their age: perhaps. A shared political ideology: absolutely right. All three of them are former Congressmen of pink variety. And they have all worked together in the government and party at some point of time. No wonder, their peer group sees them as a perfect troika. But their detractors see in this coziness the careful formation of an exclusive Mutual Admiration Club (MAC) that not only takes care of each others' interests but also caters to the same class of people, the chatteratti of urban India. With many things shared, including a left-of-centre ideology, they are now seen together on public platforms and at social functions. Never before have the barriers that kept the two top constitutional offices away from the Prime Minister's Office been breached so effectively as has been done now.

Even individually they meet each other more frequently now than they ever did before. And any occasion will suffice. They were all together when the first copy of a book of poems authored by Shiela Gujral was accepted by the President at a function at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan and again when a new book was officially released by the vice-president another day at another venue. And these past few months, Kant and his affable wife Suman have been present at every function at the Gujral household, including the Iftaar which was conspicuous by the absence of political heavyweights.

Their networking is not confined to social proximity alone. The Gujral Government has been quite liberal in looking after the vice-president's official and personal needs. Soon after his election, Kant was allowed to stay in Hyderabad House for a few weeks. But later, the Government spent a fortune completely renovating his official residence on Maulana Azad Road, providing for extra conference and entertainment facilities. On top of it, he has been permitted liberal use of Hyderabad House for entertaining his guests whose numbers are on the rise. Besides, when Kant got rid of long-serving Rajya Sabha Secretary-General Srinivas Rao Sohoni, the Gujral Government merely acquiesced.

If Krishan Kant is a beneficiary of the United Front regime's munificence, Gujral too has gained from presidential indulgence. In fact, no outgoing prime minister has been as assertive and decisive as Gujral and this could not have been possible without the President's backing. Though only four weeks remain for Gujral to leave office, he is still busy appointing department secretaries, PSU chiefs, ambassadors and high commissioners.

It is for the first time that there is perfect understanding between the three constitutional authorities. In the past, there have been three top functionaries from the same party but rarely did they share the same social or ideological background. For example, there was little in common between former president Zail Singh, vice-president R. Venkataraman and prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Former president Sanjiva Reddy and vice-president B.D. Jatti were often at loggerheads with each other. But with powerful prime ministers at the helm, their squabbles were of little consequence. Gujral is lucky. Despite heading a weak and unstable government, his friendly ties with the president and the vice-president ensure that he is often vested with the power that could be the envy of his predecessors.

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