Spell it out

Jyoti Basu's candour is to be admired, for it has helped clarify a political situation which remained diffused for several days. It was beco...

Jyoti Basu’s candour is to be admired, for it has helped clarify a political situation which remained diffused for several days. It was becoming obvious that several apparently stray events, including Basu’s frontal attack on L.K. Advani at Dankuni in West Bengal and Jayalalitha’s fortuitous bout of illness, were part of a pattern. Basu’s categorical offer of issue-based support to the Congress shows the direction in which political events are likely to develop. But perhaps he should have chosen a more valid medium for his message. It is yet unclear whether his offer originates from a single voice, or is the considered view of the party or the left as a whole. Stalwart leftist that he is, he should have let such a policy decision come from the appropriate body in the apparat in this case the politburo.

Specifically, Jyoti Basu should clarify whether he is speaking on behalf of the left in West Bengal or whether his policy also enjoys the support of the Marxists in Kerala. It might be recalled that whenthe results of the last election were coming in and there was talk of the left supporting a Congress bid to form the government, there was a positive hubbub of demurring voices among the red parties. Has there been a general change of heart since then? If so, what provoked it?

Basu or the left establishment needs to answer these questions. A move to bring down a government has to be backed by sufficient reason, and this will be supplied by the answers. Despite Basu’s indication that he hopes to deal with a better, cleaner, sweeter-smelling Congress, the fact remains that the alliance he proposes is going to be substantially similar to the old understanding between the Congress and the left. The only difference is that he will be dealing with Sonia Gandhi instead of Indira Gandhi. The left has to offer an explanation for reverting to a policy that it had, in the meantime, rejected. Whatever it is, whether dissatisfaction with the economic policy of the Vajpayee government or its decision to weaponise, itneeds to spell it out. In the absence of this justification, there is a danger that the initiative may be seen to be provoked by the central team that Advani sent to West Bengal.

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There is, of course, no harm in the left taking on the role of conscience-keeper of the government. It is a role that it has played well in the past in Parliament. It also wants to play the power-broker, though it does not hanker after the reins of power in Delhi. All the talk of historic blunders is, fortunately, history. The left realises that had Jyoti Basu actually bid for the prime ministership in the United Front government, the situation would have assumed the proportions of an epoch-making blunder.

Suffice it to say that as power-brokers, the left will be far less dangerous than most other formations this nation has seen. Whatever it does, it will at least be based on certain civilisational norms that appear to have become a casualty of democracy over the years. But now, it should spell out precisely what that is, andfrom the highest authority in its apparat.