The unanimous verdict of the five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday which restored the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh — and the stinging remarks of the court about governor J.P. Rajkhowa acting in an illegal fashion to engineer the ouster of a democratically elected dispensation — sullies the brand image of the ruling party. The governor would not have dared without the BJP’s encouragement. Over decades the BJP has projected itself as a “party with a difference”, as a political platform that emphasises public morality and is intolerant of corruption, and as an entity that values the Constitution. The Arunachal Pradesh judgement unsettles this carefully nurtured image. Indeed, it says something of the BJP’s innate sense of public morality that the party should officially state that it finds the Constitution Bench judgement “strange”. Evidently, the saffron formation is alienated from ethics.
The judgement also mocks the much-touted notion of “cooperative federalism” that Prime Minister Modi has put in currency to bolster his government’s image. The expression is intended to suggest that the BJP-led government’s object would be to willingly cooperate with state governments run by political opponents to make India grow. The country was getting ready to believe all this because of its extreme disenchantment with the Congress in the last election. But instead of cooperating, in Arunachal Pradesh the BJP actively worked to break the Congress government. The same thing happened in Uttarakhand, and for this the top judiciary administered the powers-that-be a sharp rebuke only two months ago.
The capricious use of the provision of President’s Rule, use of pliable Governors to play ducks and drakes with the authority of an elected CM and Speaker at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre, disregard of the dictum that a ruling party’s strength must only be tested on the Assembly floor to be deemed valid, and open horse-trading, were the hallmarks of “operation topple” in both Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
To ensure that the trend is not carried to other small states and as a warning to those who hold that high constitutional office, an example could be made of Mr Rajkhowa. He has disgraced his oath. The Congress gets back the Nabam Tuki government in Arunachal as per the SC’s order. But it will have to prepare to demonstrate that it has majority support in the legislature. Meanwhile, the BJP will have to fight a battle for perception in the Parliament session commencing July 18.
