6 months ago
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The Republic of India has had 15 Presidents implicit 16 presidencies, its inaugural President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad having served 2 terms. Of the fig of Governors appointed since 1947, the fig is excessively ample to beryllium counted.
The holders of these 2 precocious offices tin bash large good, sometimes not a small harm and precise oregon astir often, similar an astir Advaitic selflessness that leaves nary people immoderate — a self-protecting mechanism. It is amended to beryllium not remembered astatine each than remembered negatively. I person often wondered wherefore these precocious functionaries, erstwhile they are males arsenic they invariably are, transportation pens successful the pockets of their coats. The pen is astir a portion of their indispensable ‘getting ready’-ness. It makes them look ever-ready to motion the insubstantial enactment up to them, wherever they are.
The maestro cartoonist, Abu Abraham, immortalised the 1975 infinitesimal erstwhile the past President signed the proclamation of the nationalist exigency by a searing cartoon that showed him signing the insubstantial erstwhile it was brought to him (this clip with the stylus) astatine a precise unusual moment. Signatures tin beryllium affixed each excessively easily, erstwhile what is required is saying, ‘No, precise sorry, but no.’ The crushed whitethorn beryllium plain gratitude for being wherever the Excellency wants to be.
Equally, erstwhile a signature is declined not retired of genuine reservations but retired of bias, an Abu Abraham oregon an R.K. Laxman is needed to picture the scene. Assents erstwhile fixed successful fearfulness oregon refused retired of bias are infractions of Constitutional responsibility.
Reflections from the past
As 1 who knows that sometimes a signature (and more) tin beryllium affixed by a President connected his own, without ‘aid oregon advice’ and without a attraction connected whether what helium was doing would ‘go down good oregon not’, I indispensable callback present President R. Venkataraman (his years successful office: 1987-92) and President K. R. Narayanan (years successful office: 1997-2002). The pen was utilized by RV, confidently. It was utilized by KRN, independently. No furniture arsenic overmuch arsenic whispered disquiet. Morality was not coy with them, nor fairness halting.
The Prime Ministers RV’s word coincided with — Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar — were each strong-willed men but they were first-time incumbents of their pivotal bureau portion RV’s acquisition of governmental and law bureau was infinitely bigger. It was earthy that they deferred to him erstwhile connected Bills oregon different recommendations helium had a presumption contrary to the cabinet’s; helium enactment it crossed to them successful one-on-one confidential discussions, that being his way. The 4th Prime Minister who overlapped with RV, P.V. Narasimha Rao, thought-partnered him much than helium did his ain furniture colleagues. There was nary scope for friction.
In 1997, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister I.K. Gujral recommended to KRN the dismissal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) authorities successful Uttar Pradesh headed by Kalyan Singh. KRN’s satellite presumption and that of the BJP did not match. But helium was the President of India, not conscionable a nonmigratory of Rashtrapati Bhavan, answerable to the values of the Constitution. He did not hold with the proposal of dismissal and sent it backmost for reconsideration. The proposal did not travel back.
By 1998, the BJP was successful powerfulness astatine the Centre and the recently appointed Governor of Bihar recommended that the authorities of Rabri Devi beryllium dismissed and President’s Rule imposed nether Article 356 of the Constitution of India. The Governor had sent what was claimed to beryllium a fool-proof lawsuit showing fiscal mismanagement and mediocre instrumentality and bid markers. KRN demurred, and sent the proposal back. Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s furniture did not repetition the recommendation. KRN’s enactment successful returning these recommendations had nary authorities to it. Zero. It had lone fairness, Constitutional fairness. It had lone morality, Constitutional morality. Fairness and morality are unmistakable. As are their opposites.
RV and KRN could beryllium frank with the authorities erstwhile frankness was called for and they were not misunderstood for the authorities knew that the frankness came from a tendency to caution and correct, not to criticise.
‘Alert and alive’
Presidents and Governors are meant to beryllium men and women with minds that are alert and live to the missive of the Constitution and to its tone successful an evolving nation. They should spot that recommendations made to them adhere to the letter, knowing that the missive tin beryllium utilized sometimes to subvert the tone — an irony that the framers of the Constitution could not person anticipated. Would Babasaheb Ambedkar person thought that could person happened? The Constitution of India has been made by honorable intentions for honorable actuation.
No record was held by RV and KRN for much than a fewer days. They did not person to beryllium detective-Presidents. No hold was orchestrated during which confabulations could beryllium held, and opinions sought successful huddles, and fixed successful whispers. No pouch was deepened for a pocket-veto to beryllium exercised.
But their consciousness of Constitutional morality and fairness did not marque them look retired for flaws oregon faults oregon fallibilities arsenic a full-time occupation, 24X7.
The President and Governors are neither robots, nor are they ring-masters. They are not inert rubber stamps that are pressed mildly oregon not-so-gently onto immoderate parchment that the authorities of the time places earlier them; they would marque laughing stocks of themselves if they were that. Nor are they pens that tin take immoderate colour of ink oregon immoderate vocabulary of their prime erstwhile expressing a Constitutional view.
Conservative and realistic
The ‘answers’ of the five-judge Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, and including CJI-designate Surya Kant, to President Droupadi Murmu’s 16th Presidential Reference is imbued with this verity. The Bench has said that Governors cannot person a date-line fixed by the Supreme Court of India for their survey of Bills — upholding the missive of the Constitution. The Bench has besides said unambiguously that ‘evasive inaction’ is not ‘on’ either — upholding the tone of the Constitution.
In saying the former, the Bench has been conservative. In saying the latter, it has been realistic. The Bench has made it wide that it knows that enactment and inaction by Governors whitethorn not beryllium due to the fact that they are studious and industrious but due to the fact that they whitethorn beryllium politically predispositioned. The answers of the judges person said that nary calendar tin beryllium hung connected a Governor’s partition that says ‘This is your deadline’.
Their answers person besides placed a timepiece connected their table that ticks large and wide and has an informal alarm that tin ringing if the ‘study’ has prolonged beyond mean survey hours, leaving it unfastened for the hold to beryllium raised successful court.
The Constitution of India , particularly successful matters concerning Centre-State relations — oregon to enactment it differently, connected matters affecting India’s national polity — takes 2 to enactment it, but conscionable one, connected either side, to wreck it. Ultimately, the moving of a Constitutional statement depends connected the 2 — legislature and the Governor/President — playing their roles with respect for the Constitution and for each other.
It is singular that the 5 judges unequivocally declined to schoolhouse either side, oregon to presume the relation of tutor. They person fixed neither broadside triumph oregon defeat. The missive of the instrumentality has won, but the tone of the instrumentality has not been defeated. In what is an opinion, not an bid (for they were not handling an appeal), they person said what is precisely right: the Supreme Court should not, volition not, accidental however a President oregon Governor should oregon should not act. That would magnitude to ‘clutching astatine a jurisdiction’ (a favourite operation of RV’s) which is not their’s.
Has the Bench done an workout successful balancing? It has not. It has done an workout for equilibrium betwixt the powerfulness to bash close and the close mode to bash it.
The Indian polity needs to beryllium tally not by powerfulness games played by adroit players. It needs to beryllium governed by men and women who, erstwhile successful precocious office, emergence supra their limitations. Some incumbents marque their offices great, immoderate offices marque their incumbents great. The tragedy, arsenic the judges person seen, is that the other is arsenic true.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi was Secretary to the President, and a Governor of West Bengal and Bihar
