A boost for the founding principles of democracy comes with a terrible loss of face for the BJP in Uttarakhand. The destabilisation games the ruling party at the Centre played in the hill state came a cropper when the Supreme Court-appointed observer noted the clear victory scored by Harish Rawat of the Congress in the floor test, by 33 votes to 28 with nine rebel Congress MLAs disqualified from voting by the top court. The BJP should not have been shocked by Mayawati’s BSP, the Independents, as well as the nominated MLA, voting for Mr Rawat since the party has always had a problem winning allies or keeping them, its own overwhelming victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls being the sole reason why it was able to take power without having to look for allies or float alliances.
The misuse of Article 356 in imposing President’s Rule in Opposition-ruled states is by no means a BJP monopoly. But the worst recent example, of Bihar in 2005 by UPA-1, should have been a warning rather than a precedent for the Centre’s actions in Arunachal Pradesh, and then Uttarakhand. The floor of the legislature is the only place where the arithmetic of a party or alliance’s majority should be tested. Any other machinations are only likely lead to unseemly manoeuvring in an undemocratic dance of “horse-trading” and naked allegiance-buying, as witnessed in Uttarakhand.
Fair play in the extremely judicious use of Article 356 should have been a settled principle after the cause célèbre in S.R. Bommai versus the Union of India in 1994 served up the framework of guidelines for changing times. Power is obviously not only an elixir to serve the egos of the most powerful but also a direct means of controlling large resources. That such an avenue cannot come without the test of the popular vote in election cycles is, perhaps, the biggest lesson the BJP must learn when in power. There is no point harking back to the era of Indira Gandhi and her 39 impositions of President’s Rule at a time when development is supposed to be the sole motive force for the Union and the states. Leveraging dissent may be an accepted ploy in political one-upmanship but the anti-defection law is very clear in what is allowed and what is not.
The Centre is not being magnanimous in lifting President’s Rule in the wake of the floor test. However, in the light of Congress having lost nine dissenting MLAs, it is a fair expectation that the Assembly polls be held earlier than scheduled. Democracy would be served best if the people’s mandate was sought again. The closeness of the numbers may have prompted the toppling game, but there are far more mature ways in a democracy. In fact, even-handedness is mandatory in a federal set-up.Narendra
