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Unholy alliances

B. S. Raghavan

THE Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has been talking of coalition dharma for quite some time, and had recently even offered to resign because of his inability to bring cohesion and order to the functioning of the National Democratic Alliance (ND A). The question for which he should first of all find answer in his own mind is whether it is realistic to expect dharma in something that carries the seeds of adharma in its very formation. For, adharma is what is at the root of all the alliances, with out exception, on the political front.

Common to all of them are their opportunistic character, their utter disregard of principles and their hinging on highly egotistic political personae for whom self invariably comes before service. Each of these elements being patently contrary to anythin g even remotely approaching dharma, for Mr Vajpayee to lament the lack of it in whatever ragtag assembly of self-serving megalomaniacs going by the name of coalitions or alliances is being either incredibly naive or inexcusably impractical, considering h is credentials as a seasoned politician of the old vintage.

It must be obvious to even the meanest intelligence that those bonding together in unholy alliances do so with just one aim in view: To share the spoils of power and further their own narrow, sectarian, caste or community interests. In pursuing this aim, they are prepared to go to any lengths, throwing overboard national interest and public weal. The thought of dharma is light years away from their calculations and machinations.

Again, in the permutations and combinations, the musical chairs and the merry-go-rounds, it is only a few leaders at the top who arrogate to themselves all the right to take decisions. Their own followers are in the dark as to the rationale for entering into, or coming out of, alliances. Or, taking advantage of their ignorance or subservience, the leaders trot out some spurious arguments justifying their joining or quitting particular alliances. They escape the understanding of even the worldly wise, le t alone the lumpens forming the backbone of parties.

If there has to be dharma, it has to start from first principles. The most inviolate and immutable of them all is that the country comes before party, caste, community or individual. Is there a single party or individual capable of solemnly and truthfull y averring that to it or him/her, the country comes first? Is there a single example of a party or political leader of recent times which (or who) can be said to be free from lust for power, or from the temptation to manipulate the system for self-aggran disement?

The least that should be required of the leaders of political parties as a safeguard against the rampant opportunism vitiating public life is to hold a referendum to elicit the views of the members of their parties every time they propose joining, or lea ving, alliances/coalitions. Since all of them swear by inner party democracy, they should not shy away from taking their members at the grass roots into confidence prior to taking vital decisions affecting the future of the polity. Especially in regard t o alliances, mere rubber-stamping by executive committees and the like should not be enough.