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Politics and Public Policy in India

June 7, 2011 • 12:36 am 2

A Constitutionally Adversarial President

It is clear from the reflexes of the Congress Party and its Ministers that it intends to brazen it out in the aftermath of the Ramdev fiasco. The immediate casualty seems to be the JanLokpal Drafting Committee with the Government sending out a clear message to the Anna Hazare camp that it intends to finalize a Bill with or without them. The Prime Minister made a rare statement to the media to reiterate talking points his spin doctors had already put out since yesterday. With the BJP keeping up the pressure on convening Parliament the stage is set finally for this public debate to return to the political realm, after having been hijacked by non-political actors.

While the debate finds its way to Parliament sooner or later, the political theater is clearly shifting to Uttar Pradesh. Much of the communal rhetoric from the likes of Digvijay Singh underlines how high the stakes are for the Congress in general and for his mentee Rahul Gandhi in particular. Mayawati’s steely but balanced response to the Ramdev fiasco and Mulayam’s criticism of the UPA’s actions are a reminder to the Congress that its attempts at raising the Hindu bogey to consolidate the Muslim Vote Bank will be thwarted by its twin regional adversaries despite playing footsie with it in Delhi. Based on the current reading of the mood in Uttar Pradesh the assembly election next year will be Mayawati’s to lose.

It is unlikely that the current political impasse or the outcome in Uttar Pradesh will unravel the UPA dispensation in Delhi. It clearly is not in the Congress’ interests to call early elections with Andhra in a mess and Uttar Pradesh far from locked in. A likely loss in U.P. for the Congress will considerably increase the odds of it serving the rest of its full term. It is also not in the interest of the principal Opposition to precipitate a mid term poll without quite having scripted a coherent Federal Alternative to the UPA.

The Presidential elections next year offer the perfect opportunity to take baby steps towards such a coherent alternative. The current mood in the country rooted in its skepticism of all politics and its fascination for an Independent Watchdog can have a positive spin-off if the Principal Opposition and the other Non-Congress Parties can forge a consensus around the idea of a Constitutionally Adversarial President.

Who best to be a watchdog on the Constitutional Excesses of the UPA than a President who is not beholden to the Nehru-Gandhis, has an independent mind and is well regarded on Constitutional Issues ?

India has rarely seen a scenario where the Party in Power has not had the luxury of putting into office a President of its choice. The last time we came close to this was when the Vajpayee lead NDA Government pulled off a political masterstroke of nominating APJ Abdul Kalam who drew wide bi-partisan support. Dr. Kalam will also go down in history as the only President who came close to mildly asserting himself against the Party in Government which interestingly was on the Office of Profit Issue and Sonia Gandhi’s extra-consitutional role in the National Advisory Council.

A Constitutionally Adversarial President can meet the twin desires – desire for an apolitical Check on the Government and the desire for not diluting the spirit of Constitution. Eminent Constitutional Lawyers like a Soli Sorabjee or a Fali Nariman or a K.K. Venugopal  could inspire the confidence across both civil society groups and political parties for both their credibility and independence.

Whether the non-Congress parties have the numbers in the Presidential Electoral College to successfully pull of such a coup on the Congress remains to be seen ?

The  idea however merits further exploration for from it can evolve a Platform for 2014 that forges a Federal compact between regional parties to protect their interests  and triggers a debate on Constitutional Reforms for an Effective Government within the boundaries of our Parliamentary System.

Filed under: Ambedkarite Constitutionalism, Anna Hazare, उत्तर प्रदेश २०१२, Baba Ramdev, betrayal of aam admi, Pratibha Patil, UPA-II Critical Appraisal, Uttar Pradesh Polls 2012

May 16, 2009 • 12:00 am 923

India Elections 2009 Results – Live Blogging

With the votes set to be counted for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, here is what Offstumped is looking forward to today.

#1 Will the BJP overtake the Congress as the single largest party and if so by what margin ?

#2 Will Andhra turn in a hung assembly and if so how will the power equations be re-writtent by the voters. Specifically can the TDP manage the numbers with TRS and others or does the Congress have an outside chance by roping in Chiranjeevi’s PRP ?

#3 Will Orissa turn out a hung assembly. Specifically can Naveen Patnaik’s BJD manage the numbers with others or will he be compelled to a suicidal embrace of the Congress. Will Orissa become the next Karnataka for the BJP ?

#4 Will Maharashtra continue to deliver a split verdict or has the BJP-Shiv Sena combine turned the corner in this key large state ?

#5 Will Tamil Nadu’s unusually high turnout mean a AIADMK sweep or will it be a split verdict for Tamil Nadu’s revolving door politics ?

Specific bellwhether seats of interest are

#1 Mandi in Himachal Pradesh which has voted for the party that has formed the government last 6 elections. A BJP loss here would be ominous

#2 Will Dumka in Jharkhand vote against JMM/Congress/RJD

#3 Will Mayurbhanj in Orissa vote against BJP ?

#4 Will Nandyal in Andhra vote against Congress ?

#5 Will Mahabubnagar in Andhra surprise the TRS by dumping KCR ?

#6 Will Peddapalle in Andhra vote against the Congress ?

#7 Will the BJP sweep Rajmahal, Godda, Jamshedpur and Giridih in Jharkhand ?

#8 Which of these 3 Gujarat bellwhether seats will BJP wrest or retain – Anand, Bulsar, Banaskantha ?

#9 Which way will Kangra in Himachal Pradesh go ?

#10 What about bellwhether seats in Chattisgarh (Mahasamund), Maharashtra (Ahmednagar), Punjab (Jalandher), Rajasthan (Sikar), West Bengal (Dum-dum)

#11 How many of the bellwhether seats in Orissa of Aska, Phulbani, Bolangir, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sundargarh will go to BJP ?

#12 Finally will any of the 4 bellwhether seats of Tamil Nadu Vellore, Chidambaram, Coimbatore, Nagappatnam fall to the AIADMK lead alliance ?

Also catch all the action via Offstumped on

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PS: As this goes to press, a short email exchange with reliable quarters in the BJP reveals fairly high confidence, fingers crossed.

Filed under: betrayal of aam admi, Chattisgarh Polls 2008, Chhattisgarh Polls 2008, CNN-IBN Boycott, Delhi Polls 2008, DesiPundit, Dharma-debates, Dharmayudh-2009, Gujarat Polls 2007, India Elections 2009, India Lok Sabha Elections 2009, jeetega-bharat, Karnataka Polls 2008, Lok Sabha Polls 2008-2009, Madhya Pradesh Polls 2008, Madhya Pradesh Polls 2008, Manmohan Confidence Vote, Offstumped, Offstumped on Twitter, Pratibha Patil, Rajasthan Polls 2008, War on Terror

April 15, 2009 • 4:58 am 68

Open Letter to Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta

Eminent Delhi based public intellectual and former member of the National Knowledge Commission Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta today wrote a curious op-ed in the Indian Express titled “The Politics of Hurt“.

This open letter is addressed to him with the intention of obtaining some answers.

Dear Dr. Mehta

It was interesting to note that public intellectuals such as yourself can take a political stance in public 48 hours before the nation goes to polls.

But then your political stance reflected in this op-ed in the Indian Express is curious for a couple of reasons.

It is clear that you definitely dont want to vote for the BJP. It is also clear that you definitely do want to vote for the Congress.

But then Sir where you are emphatic in your rejection of the BJP you betray no conviction at all in your endorsement of the Congress. In fact you dont even hazard to say in as many words that you support the Congress despite betraying your sentiments towards it.

Why Sir this intellectual timidity ?

Why Sir do you need to dedicate 95% of your column for the case against the BJP and leave only a few sentences to make a less than convincing case for the Congress ?

Why Sir do you need the BJP excuse to make your case for the Congress ?

In fact less troubling than your critique of the BJP is your curious case for the Congress.

What “idea” exactly Sir are you referring to when you say

They attack the Congress in the name of an idea of what the Congress should be.

Your hopes for the so called “ideal” the Congress represents would have carried far greater credibility and conviction if you had dedicated your column to describing that “ideal”, rather than dedicate the entire column to venting out your disgust towards the BJP and Mr. Advani.

In fact doing so you seem to betray emotions that suggest the exact opposite. You Sir seem to be more hurt and disappointed with the BJP than you are motivated and excited for the Congress.

I dont propose to make a case for the BJP in this letter but I find this suggestion by you even more curious

longevity of the Congress is a sign that there is something about it that is worth salvaging

If memory serves me right, the only occassion when this nation saw you take a public stance on principle and convictions was when you resigned from the National Knowledge Commission on the issue of OBC Reservations in Institutions of Higher Education.

The practice of Reservations in India is about as long as the post Independence Congress Party. So should we take it that your objections to OBC Reservations are at odds with this notion that longevity is somehow the yardstick for the worthiness of an idea.

If one were to extend the same longevity yardstick to just about every social ill from Dowry to Caste based identity politics that continue to survive in India, does their long life make them ideas worth salvaging ?

I dont want to even go into your selective defense of election time rhetoric from Sonia Gandhi, its less than honest and you know it. It would have been ok if you were transparent about your partisanship for one would have taken it as all is fair in war and elections.

But then Sir you purport to give intellectual cover to Sonia Gandhi’s partisanship while being less than forthright about it.

In doing so you Sir have diminished your standing as a Public Intellectual.

I am not troubled by your dismissal of the BJP’s next tier of leadership. But I am extremely troubled by your seeking hope in the next generation of the Congress’ leadership based on its age while leaving unstated your implicit endorsement of Rahul Gandhi as successor to Manmohan Singh.

It stumps me what idea and ideal you hope to salvage by taking comfort in the prospect that the heir apparent’s only claim to the top office are his last name and genes, is younger than his political rivals.

In closing let me just say that the danger to India is not from its illiterate masses in remote villages who may choose the BJP  out of their own wisdom of lack of. 

But the real danger Sir is from public intellectuals in New Delhi who lack the courage and conviction to be forthright in their partisanship and from those who seek to provide intellectual cover to sycophancy and subversion of the original intent of the Constitution.

Yours Sincerely

An Aam Admi who admires your occassional intellectual brilliance but is deeply disappointed with your lack of conviction.

Filed under: betrayal of aam admi, Chattisgarh Polls 2008, Chhattisgarh Polls 2008, Delhi Polls 2008, Dharmayudh-2009, Gujarat Polls 2007, India Elections 2009, India Lok Sabha Elections 2009, jeetega-bharat, Karnataka Polls 2008, Lok Sabha Polls 2008-2009, Madhya Pradesh Polls 2008, Madhya Pradesh Polls 2008, Manmohan Confidence Vote, Pratibha Patil, Rajasthan Polls 2008

April 15, 2009 • 4:56 am 68

Open Letter to Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta

Eminent Delhi based public intellectual and former member of the National Knowledge Commission Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta today wrote a curious op-ed in the Indian Express titled “The Politics of Hurt“.

This open letter is addressed to him with the intention of obtaining some answers from him.

Dear Dr. Mehta

It was interesting to note that public intellectuals such as yourself can take a political stance in public 48 hours before the nation goes to polls.

But then your political stance reflected in this op-ed in the Indian Express is curious for a couple of reasons.

It is clear that you definitely dont want to vote for the BJP. It is also clear that you definitely do want to vote for the Congress.

But then Sir where you are emphatic in your rejection of the BJP you betray no conviction at all in your endorsement of the Congress. In fact you dont even hazard to say in as many words that you support the Congress despite betraying your sentiments towards it.

Why Sir this intellectual timidity ?

Why Sir do you need to dedicate 95% of your column for the case against the BJP and leave only a few sentences to make a less than convincing case for the Congress ?

Why Sir do you need the BJP excuse to make your case for the Congress ?

In fact less troubling than your critique of the BJP is your curious case for the Congress.

What “idea” exactly Sir are you referring to when you say

They attack the Congress in the name of an idea of what the Congress should be.

Your hopes for the so called “ideal” the Congress represents would have carried far greater credibility and conviction if you had dedicated your column to describing that “ideal”, rather than dedicate the entire column to venting out your disgust towards the BJP and Mr. Advani.

In fact doing so you seem to betray emotions that suggest the exact opposite. You Sir seem to be more hurt and disappointed with the BJP than you are motivated and excited for the Congress.

I dont propose to make a case for the BJP in this letter but I find this suggestion by you even more curious

longevity of the Congress is a sign that there is something about it that is worth salvaging

If memory serves me right, the only occassion when this nation saw you take a public stance on principle and convictions was when you resigned from the National Knowledge Commission on the issue of OBC Reservations in Institutions of Higher Education.

The practice of Reservations in India is about as long as the post Independence Congress Party. So should we take it that your objections to OBC Reservations are at odds with this notion that longevity is somehow the yardstick for the worthiness of an idea.

If one were to extend the same longevity yardstick to just about every social ill from Dowry to Caste based identity politics that continue to survive in India, does their long life make them ideas worth salvaging ?

I dont want to even go into your selective defense of election time rhetoric from Sonia Gandhi, its less than honest and you know it. It would have been ok if you were transparent about your partisanship for one would have taken it as all is fair in war and elections.

But then Sir you purport to give intellectual cover to Sonia Gandhi’s partisanship while being less than forthright about it.

In doing so you Sir have diminished your standing as a Public Intellectual.

I am not troubled by your dismissal of the BJP’s next tier of leadership. But I am extremely troubled by your seeking hope in the next generation of the Congress’ leadership based on its age while leaving unstated your implicit endorsement of Rahul Gandhi as successor to Manmohan Singh.

It stumps me what idea and ideal you hope to salvage by taking comfort in the prospect that the heir apparent’s only claim to the top office are his last name and genes, is younger than his political rivals.

In closing let me just say that the danger to India is not from its illiterate masses in remote villages who may choose the BJP  out of their own wisdom of lack of. 

But the real danger Sir is from public intellectuals in New Delhi who lack the courage and conviction to be forthright in their partisanship and from those who seek to provide intellectual cover to sycophancy and subversion of the original intent of the Constitution.

Yours Sincerely

An Aam Admi who admires your occassional intellectual brilliance but is deeply disappointed with your lack of conviction.

Filed under: betrayal of aam admi, Chattisgarh Polls 2008, Chhattisgarh Polls 2008, Delhi Polls 2008, Dharmayudh-2009, Gujarat Polls 2007, India Elections 2009, jeetega-bharat, Karnataka Polls 2008, Lok Sabha Polls 2008-2009, Madhya Pradesh Polls 2008, Manmohan Confidence Vote, Offstumped, Pratibha Patil, Rajasthan Polls 2008

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