|
As may be expected, the Congress and
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are targeting each other's main
weak spots in their current political confrontation, but their
mutual vulnerabilities are making it some kind of dead heat.
While the BJP has had no difficulty in cornering the Congress on
corruption, given the latter's long flawed history going back to
the Bofors howitzer scam of 1987 and even earlier, the Congress
has hit back where the BJP is most susceptible - its anti-Muslim
record.
To make matters worse for the saffron outfit, the present
investigative focus on various terrorist outrages - Malegaon,
Ajmer, Hyderabad and the Samjhaauta Express - is tending to show
how the Sangh Parivar's decades-old communalism has morphed into
terrorism. There is a long way to go, of course, before the
charges are proved, but in politics the innuendoes can often be as
effective as the final verdict.
It is the same with the BJP's allegations of corruption against
the Congress. Again, it is not going to be any time soon that the
charges against Andimuthu Raja, the telecom minister who had to
resign because of his suspected involvement in the dubious 2G
spectrum dealings, or against Suresh Kalmadi, chief of the
organising committee of the scam-tainted Commonwealth Games, get a
judicial stamp of authority. But that hasn't stopped the BJP from
creating an atmosphere where corruption is seen as the Congress'
middle name.
In addition, the fact that Congress president Sonia Gandhi called
for the establishment of fast-track courts to tackle the questions
of sleaze has confirmed the prevailing impression of widespread
venality. So has her admission that the country's "moral universe"
is shrinking because of "graft" and "greed".
The sudden resurrection of the Bofors episode with an income tax
tribunal naming Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi as one of
the beneficiaries of the kickbacks has also enabled the BJP to
directly link Sonia Gandhi with the case.
Similarly, the Supreme court's permission to the Kerala government
to proceed against the chief vigilance commissioner, P.J. Thomas,
in a 20-year-old scam is another setback to the Manmohan Singh
government since it had cleared Thomas' name for the post against
the BJP's objections.
However, the BJP's own weaknesses are preventing it from emerging
as a winner in this battle of painting its rival black. Its main
disadvantage is that in the matter of corruption, it is hobbled by
charges of nepotism faced by its chief minister in Karnataka, B.S.
Yeddyurappa.
It is not only the latter's less than lily-white reputation which
is a millstone round the BJP's neck. The allegations of illegal
mining against the so-called Bellary brothers, Janardhana and
Karunakara Reddy who are ministers in Karnataka, which has been
substantiated by the Supreme Court, also weaken the BJP's case
against the Congress.
Unfortunately, the confrontation between the two parties is not
confined to hurling accusations against each other but has led to
the stalling of parliament by the BJP over its demand for
instituting a joint parliamentary committee probe against the
spectrum scandal. No business could be transacted during the
entire winter session and there is a possibility of the BJP
persisting with its disruptive tactics during the forthcoming
budget session as well.
To pay the BJP back in its own coin, the Congress and its ally in
Karnataka, the Janata Dal-Secular, has been refusing to let the
state assembly conduct its business unless Yeddyurappa's
questionable land deals are debated.
As these tit-for-tat measures and the probes into the Congress'
corruption and the BJP's terror links continue, it is becoming
clear that the country is entering a phase of political negativism
where wrestling in a mud pit will be the main occupation of the
political parties at the expense of governance.
The scene will get murkier if the stalling of the budget session
compels the government to call for a general election three years
before the scheduled time. The BJP has declared the threat of an
early poll as scare-mongering by the Congress. But it may be the
only way out if parliament is not allowed to function for session
after session.
That neither the Congress nor the BJP has the gumption to face the
electorate is a deterrent where another election is concerned. But
this unwillingness has not stopped the two parties from mutually
paving the way to a debilitating stalemate even if both are seen
as losers.
The tactical mistakes of the two parties are obvious. The BJP's
weakened position in the aftermath of the last general election
made it seize upon the plethora of corruption charges against the
Congress with such glee that it lost all sense of proportion when
it refused to let parliament function.
The Congress, too, is banking on the terror charges against
individuals associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),
which is the head of the Parivar, to bail it out of trouble by
forcing the BJP and the Parivar to be defensive. But these are
notional gains in a zero sum game.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be
reached at aganguli@mail.com)
|
Comments
|
Quick links