Bihar - then and now

By C. Subramaniam

1969. ELECTIONS to the Bihar Assembly were held, but no party got a majority. The Congress emerged as the single largest party and attempts were made to form a coalition Government. Harihar Singh who was elected leader of the Congress Party, worked out an alignment with the Swatantra Party and the Janata Party and in forming the Cabinet, he included the Raja of Ramgarh as a Cabinet Minister. There were cases in the High Court against the Raja and severe strictures had been passed against him on his dealings with his tenants and other matters connected with his landholdings. Many were surprised by his inclusion which had not been discussed in the Congress Working Committee before the decision was taken.

When the Working Committee met on March 7, I raised this issue. I particularly voiced my opposition on the ground that there were strictures against him by the court, I was supported not only by Kamaraj but also by Sanjeevaiah, Fakruddin Ali Ahmed and Jagjivan Ram. In the face of this strong criticism, Congress president Nijalingappa took full responsibility and offered to resign. But he was persuaded by members not to take such a step. S. K. Patil and a few others felt that since the inclusion of the Raja of Ramgarh was a fait accompli, the matter should be allowed to rest at that. They, however, pointed out that in future care should be taken to avoid similar mistakes.

I was not satisfied with this decision to allow the matter to rest. So I sent the following letter to the Congress president, submitting my resignation as member of the Congress Working Committee: ``I want to assure you that I am not taking this decision in haste. I have been pondering over the events in Bihar and I feel the step we have taken in forming the Ministry in collaboration with the Janata Party and with the leader of the party as a member of the Cabinet is going to hurt the party very badly not only in Bihar but in other States also. I expressed my views as strongly as possible in the Working Committee yesterday and while there was general consensus that what we had done was not quite proper, it was felt that nothing can possibly be done at this stage. I strongly disagree with this approach. Under the circumstances, I feel I should tender my resignation of my membership of the Working Committee, as I cannot express my views concerning this while continuing as a member. You will kindly accept my resignation. I have been functioning as Chairman of the Committee on Political and Economic Strategy. If you wish me to continue that work, I have no objection.''

In reply, I received a letter from the Congress general secretary stating that my letter was placed before the Working Committee and that, while appreciating my feelings, it had unanimously decided that I should be requested to withdraw my resignation. I refused to, unless my demand for the exclusion of the Raja of Ramgarh from the Bihar Ministry was met. By insisting on my resignation I forced the High Command to reopen the issue. I felt that the mistake should be rectified by asking Harihar Singh, Chief Minister, to submit his resignation and reform the Ministry without the Raja. My letter of resignation was taken up for consideration by the Working Committee, the next day.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who could not attend the meeting of the Working Committee on the previous day due to indisposition, attended this meeting. I was not present at the meeting. Indira Gandhi told the Working Committee members that she was not consulted before permission was given to Harihar Singh to include the Raja of Ramgarh. Some of the other senior members also disclaimed responsibility for what had happened. Before attending the Working Committee the Prime Minister sent for me and discussed the situation arising out of my resignation. I firmly told her that I would not withdraw my resignation unless the mistake was rectified. The Prime Minister informed the Working Committee that she had not been able to persuade me to withdraw my resignation.

The Prime Minister took the initiative to send for the Chief Minister from Bihar to have further discussions with the Congress Executive. Nijalingappa was requested by the Working Committee to postpone his departure to Australia and he had a telephonic conversation with the Bihar Chief Minister. My suggestion that the Chief Minister must be asked to submit the resignation of his Cabinet to the Governor and reconstitute it without the Raja of Ramgarh was gaining ground. The majority in the Working Committee also felt that if it was not possible to solve the crisis it was better for the Congress to sit in the Opposition. The Congress Working Committee again met on March 13 and unanimously endorsed the stand taken by me with regard to the formation of the Bihar Ministry. The Congress President asked the Bihar Chief Minister to persuade the Raja of Ramgarh to quit the Cabinet voluntarily. If, however, the Raja refused to oblige, the Chief Minister was asked to submit the resignation of his Ministry and reconstitute it without the Raja.

After this I sent a telegram from Madras withdrawing my resignation saying that I was doing so in deference to the unanimous wish to the Working Committee and that I was highly gratified by the decision on the Bihar Ministry. The 1969 Bihar episode showed that it was necessary to lay down the criteria for having an alliance with other parties and that no unprincipled alliance should be resorted to solely for the purpose of getting into power.

After three decades, a more ticklish situation has arisen in Bihar. The recent happenings in Bihar leave an old Congressmen like me profoundly sad. What a fall for a party which was in the vanguard of our freedom movement under the epoch-making leadership of Mahatmaji! In the recent elections to the Bihar Assembly, the Congress had opposed the Rashtriya Janata Dal characterising the RJD rule as ``jungle raj''. While the RJD romped home as the largest single party, the Congress fared poorly with a mere 24 seats. Pre-poll diatribes strangely gave way to post-poll bonhomie. The Congress has sealed an alliance with a party whose de jure and de facto Chief Ministers have both been charge-sheeted for corruption in a court of law and arrested.

In a cynical bargain, all the Congress MLAs have been rewarded with office - one as Speaker and the rest as Ministers. On top of this, in a show of righteous indignation, the Congress is clamouring for a higher share of important portfolios and it appears to be succeeding in this effort. This is a transparent attempt at manipulating a majority by installing a jumbo Cabinet. In my view, this is a flagrant negation of the parliamentary system and of Constitutional norms and the worst form of corruption. It is indeed tragic that the Congress is in the thick of these murky goings-on and is also involved in propping up one of the most corrupt regimes in the country. Evocative memories fill my heart when I look back upon the halcyon days of the Congress. Soaring idealism, love of the country, passion to serve the people and uncompromising adherence to some norms and principles - these animated the Congress of those days.

Prolonged and unchallenged access to power had gradually eroded some of the pristine values. Departure from norms was still an exception and cynicism had not taken centre stage. After the party has been pushed out of power and relegated to a weak second position, hunger for lost power appears to be dominating the Congress psyche. It is indeed legitimate for a prominent political party to attempt to gain power in a democratic polity. But, not at any cost - that too for a party with such hoary traditions. With its rich heritage, the Congress should endeavour to be a role model for the other parties and not adopt access to power as the raison d' etre of political existence. Even now it is not too late. The Congress can still undo the damage it has inflicted upon itself in Bihar.

The Congress should realise that corruption is a major malaise afflicting the country's body politic and should firmly set its face against this evil. Its alliance in Tamil Nadu is also unfortunately sending wrong signals to the public and can also desensitise people to this major problem. The Congress should take stock of its national role at this juncture and demonstrate that it stands for probity and cleanliness in public life. This is a cry of anguish from an old Congressman.

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