An ideal President is one who is a source of wise counsel to the Prime Minister, and resists the temptation of becoming a rival power centre
Today Pranab Mukherjee will be sworn in as the 13th President of the Indian republic. Somehow it is not easy to stub out a premonition that his presidency will end up creating a miasma of constitutional and political unhappiness. The troublesome thought recurs around an unaccustomed — and, essentially, unanswerable — question: can a 24x7 politician painlessly switch gears overnight to become a copybook constitutional head of the republic? Can a man joyfully steeped in the soul-crushing manoeuvres and wheeling-dealing of the Indian political stock exchange adjust to the unexcitement of the limited role the President is assigned in a parliamentary system? This question is rather pertinent in Mr. Mukherjee’s case. It is a new, if not odd, situation. Unlike any of his predecessors at Rashtrapati Bhavan, he not only selected himself but also quarterbacked his campaign, that too against heavy odds, especially in his own political party.
A well kept secret
It was one of the best kept secrets that Mr. Mukherjee was anxious — perhaps over-anxious — to be either Prime Minister or President. When, in January 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to be hospitalised for a heart operation, as the most senior Minister in charge of the government, Mr. Mukherjee ended up rubbing other colleagues the wrong way. That cameo did not endear him to the party leadership. Yet he continued to believe that his long innings as a faithful party apparatchik had entitled him to a shot at one of the two posts. There were enough friendly souls around to keep reminding him of his seniority, dating back to his days as Indira Gandhi’s Finance Minister. Once it was made clear to him that there was no vacancy at the office of the Prime Minister, he settled his sights on Rashtrapati Bhavan. It has been suggested that he was feeling jaded and overworked, and felt entitled to some peace and rest and to bask in the sunshine of ceremonial glories at the sprawling Mughal gardens.
Pranab Mukherjee was number two in the Manmohan Singh government these last eight years. He wielded enormous — some will say disproportionate — influence in how, when and what decisions the UPA government ended up taking and, perhaps, not taking. Now from the heights of involvement and instrumentality in decision-making, he has opted for a role in which he will come to resent that his talent and experience were underutilised and under-appreciated.
Over the years, Mr. Mukherjee has acquired a formidable claque. Like all political heavyweights in the capital, he too has chosen to have talented, ambitious and conspiring men and women around him who have a perfectly legitimate interest in his continued political prosperity. It is believed that the bulk of the cast of characters is likely to relocate itself in Rashtrapati Bhavan. They provide his comfort zone; they also help shape his thinking and priorities — just as they help him nurse long-standing grievances. The claque can become a clique and easily goad him into the Zail Singh corner.
Weak political wicket
Over the last two years, Mr. Mukherjee was on a losing political wicket. He picked up an unbecoming quarrel with Home Minister P. Chidambaram in full public glare. As the most senior Minister in the government, it was incumbent upon him to observe restraint; instead, he allowed his overzealous clique to create a public spectacle over some chewing gum. From then on, he was easy prey for scheming editors and other trouble-mongers masquerading as newsmen.
Like any other constitutional institution, the presidential office gets defined by the man and the circumstances. Mr. Mukherjee too will seek to reshape the office. However, it would be a sobering thought to remember that Rashtrapati Bhavan is not a rival centre of authority. There has always been a school of thought which wants to use the presidential office as the cat’s paw, sabotaging the elected government of the day. This was the temptation that prompted the unseemly campaign launched by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in 2007; some similar thoughts were at the back of the mind of those who choreographed the P.A. Sangma candidature. A presidential election is, no doubt, a contest with considerable political overtones; and, the electoral college numbers may or may not be comfortable to the Prime Minister and his support base in the Lok Sabha. But it is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution to inject the notions of an activist President, as the losing sides tried to do these last two presidential polls. This holds good for the winner as well as for the loser.
Nor is the President a referee in the routine disputes and arguments between the ruling party and the Opposition. After the National Democratic Alliance was voted out in May 2004, L.K. Advani and his fellow travellers almost made a habit of going up Raisina Hill all too frequently and presenting a memorandum of complaints against the UPA government; and then, with the magnificent Rashtrapati Bhavan in the background, the NDA leaders would suggest meaningfully that the President was in sympathy with their grievance. It made good television but needlessly dragged the head of the republic into unsavoury controversies. These trips up the Hill virtually ceased once Pratibha Patil succeeded Abdul Kalam. But for a while it was sought to be made out as if the President of the republic has yellow and red cards which can be shown to this or that presumably offending minister or even to a Prime Minister.
Tricky call
Above all, it should always be remembered that Rashtrapati Bhavan cannot be allowed to become a site of influence-peddling. That is a tricky call to make. Anyone who gets to occupy that resplendent building is bound, sooner or later, to feel the limitations of that office and then feel frustrated at the absence of patronage and pelf. It is not the occupant as much as his/her entourage that feels the pinch of absence of real power.
An ideal President is one who becomes a source of wise counsel to the Prime Minister; it is easier said than done. The Prime Minister must feel comfortable driving down to Rashtrapati Bhavan and the obligation of consultation should not become a joyless burden; just as the President must remember that the Prime Minister of the day has his share of political difficulties and constraints. If the President joins hands with the Prime Minister, the two can become a powerful source of constitutional and political wholesomeness. A President can help the Prime Minister ward off unhealthy demands of coalition partners. Or, similarly, the President can play a welcome corrective part in the matter of judicial appointments by the simple stratagem of keeping a dubious file pending, just as President Kalam once did.
Of course, there is nothing to prevent a President from insinuating himself into the political narrative, especially in this age of fractured mandates and coalition governments. At least Giani Zail Singh could be confronted with the possibility of an impeachment were he to cross the lakshman rekha; today, a President can easily succumb to the temptation of muddying the waters and dominate the news waves. The Indian republic finds itself at a crossroads when every institution is seeking to maximise its reach and influence at the expense of the executive. It would be doubly unfortunate if the Pranab presidency too allowed itself to become a source of political distraction. A word of caution is not out of place as President Mukherjee starts his much deserved relaxation in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
It is an interesting piece of writing.Only circumstances will drive Mr.Pranab as an active president.We cannot predict or presume, what he will be, based on his political career.Once a seasoned politician like him,has to be dorment and restrained,he may turn into a philosopher,or a maveric.Let us hope we are going to witness a good tenure from him.The only portion of the write-up,which offends readers is that"overzealous clique to create a public spectacle over some chewing gum".We all know fullywell, the circumstances leading to that episode,and also know that everything was hushed up to avoid embarrasement.The truth will never come out,and the other party is also not a kin of Harichandra.The same holds good for the happenings,when Mr.Manmohan was ailing.
He was preceded as Secretary General of the non-aligned movement by
Fidel Castro and succeeded by Robert Mugabe. One can see what his ghost
would have done to Cuba, Zimbabwe and maybe India. Pranab belongs with
this crowd.
Mr.Pranab Mukherjee is "too humble", he is "too obliged" and "too much dedicated to the congress party".This makes his preidential post jeopardised to critism from "non-congress lovers".The tag of being surrendered to the duty, towards Indira and Sonia Ghandhi has always made him a loyal politician of congress.Now, it will be interesting to see how he comes out of this image and of the party line politics.
Can one can ever see an Indian spirit devoted to the welfare of or
Motherland. Even Gandhi erred in siding with Nehru, which was the very
source of all evils that followed.
But, this may boomerang and adversely affect the interests of the
dynasty in the future. Pranab is ambitious and may not toe the line
dictated by the dynasty in a given situation. He may like to exert
himself and go overboard. When it happens it could then turn out to be
the worst nightmare fot Sonia and her dynasty.
If circumstances require to safeguard the constitution,he should not
be passive.Remember how the first president Rajendraprasad ignored the
advice of Nehru in attending innaguration of Somanath temple and the
funeral of iron man of india, Sardar Vallabhai Patel.Again K R Narayan
intervened decisively in UP when the governor dismissed the
government unjustly prompting The Indian Express to write an
magnificient editorial THE NOBLE AND THE IGNOBLE.
Wish the new President all the best for his new role and hope that he would deliver to the people of the country and not those who elected him only. He is 13th President. Hmmmmm......
What anyone should want is for Pranab to be a responsible President exercising his power judiciously - hope that is so. The tone of the article implies that Pranab can be responsible only by agreeing to act in conjunction with the PM's office to thwart any political opposition. Makes one wonder if Sonia Gandhi was ghost-writing for the author? Pranab is a very capable person and we all should hope that he will be sincere to his role as the president of our republic as mentioned in the constitution. Hope no PM can or will use him to ward off threats to the throne. In situation like the one in which India find's itself (with every political entity undeniably selfish and corrupt) - the constitution should reign supreme. Concerns that the office of the executive is being undermined are valid. But when the chief executive acts as if he is not responsible for the state of affairs and the office of the executive is no longer the place for solutions,how can one not act to undermine the office?
In a Parliamentary form of Government, the President has a very nominal, and only ceremonial role. He may for instance return a Bill for reconsideration of the Government.Or in the case of a constitutional crisis he can choose the party to govern. There is nothing more he can or should do. Even his formal speeches are written by the incumbent government. In other words, there is a Lakshman Rekha which he cannot cross--like the monarchy of England. There is absolutely no scope for a politically pro-active role that he can play. Things should be left there. Veevip Sarathy
Fully agree with Mr Harish Khare's views.Raisina Hills should not become a third power centre We are already burdened with two. Lets hope that Mr Pranabda will not become another Manmohan Singh who has reduced the post of prime minister to that of a typical Indian bureaucrat.
After thinking a bit, I have a radical suggestion. What's the point of president? We can as well do away with it. All the money spent on the rashtrapathi bhavan, president's tours, etc. can be spent on specific development work. Say education, healthcare, etc. If politicians don't like it, then we can have president's money spent on MPs well being or salary. Hopefully, that will impel them to work at least a bit. Similarly, we should do away with Governor's post. Basically, these posts are used as reward for loyalty - a reward from people's money. We can as well do away with it.
Attitude of the writer is negative ,let us hope and expect an honest patriotic to save India , a country which was a slavery in almost throughout its existence. Can one can ever see an Indian spirit devoted to the welfare of or Motherland. Even Gandhi erred in siding with Nehru, which was the very source of all evils that followed.
It is surprising India elected a president who gaveup the right to information on black money stashed away from India from foreign countries and who delibrately didnot disclose the information which he has from german bank on money looted away from India!!!
He is the best choice.
It is everybody's secret that Shri.Pranab Mukerjee became President
courtesy Sonia Gandhi. Thus because of congressmen habit he can and he
will always function as remote controlled President.
We give best wishes to Pranab Mukherjee on becoming 13 th President of India .
He did not mention ills of Caste and Varna system in his speech , that surprises us.
Also he was mum on other very important problem of India, that is Over Population.
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Sonia Gandhi has taken a calculated risk in packing off Pranab Mukherji to the Rashtrapathi Bhawan. Pranab had to vacate his place to make the cabinet room amicable and conducive to Rahul Gandhi. Except Pranab all others in the cabinet are loyal to the dynasty.
But, this may boomerang and adversely affect the interests of the dynasty in the future. Pranab is ambitious and may not toe the line dictated by the dynasty in a given situation. He may like to exert himself and go overboard. When it happens it could then turn out to be the worst nightmare fot Sonia and her dynasty.
It is an open secret that the choice of Pranab has been made with the fond hope that he would oblige and dance to the tunes of Congress Supremo. Let us hope that that hope fails.
The article is a classic case of manipulating the press to serve a particular interest group in the political cauldron of our country. It is heavily biased towards Gandhi-Singh combine and is premature,poorly speculative,and a lame attempt to influence popular thought process.We want our President to be a protecter of our constitution and to be fearless to take right decision whenever there is an attempt to malign and twist the constitutional interpretation.Only time will tell whether Pranab Mukherjee is upto the task or not.Till he fails to deliver,all these articles needed to be dumped in the nearest dustbin.
Mukharjee is elected President with great expectations by the Congress
party. In order to score political advantage if the 2014 mandate is a
fractured one then President,s help is required for forming the
government. In such a situation the Congress party need a Yes man as
President to dance to its tunes.
Coming from a former media adviser to the prime minister Manamohansing,the article is a veiled threat to the president not to be active.this is insult to Pranab. If circumstances reuire to safeguard the constitution,he should not be passive.Remember how the first president Rajendraprasad ignored the advice of Nehru in attending innaguration of Somanath temple and the funeral of iron man of india, Sardar Vallabhai Patel.Again K R Narayan intervened decissively in UP when the governer dismissed the government unjustly prompting The Indian Express to write an magnificient editorial THE NOBLE AND THE IGNOBLE. Hence assuming things is very uncharecterstic of a senior journilist of the stature of Harish Kare.
All of my previous commentators have expressed great hope of Pranabdaa becoming a statesman like figure in the Highest Office of the Republic of India. But, I see and strongly believe The Congress Party has prepared an easy back door acceess to steer clear its way to take control by installing stooge governments in various other states by nominating Pranabdaa for the post of President, so that in the post 2014 elections where Congress any way will be loosing the peoples mandate due to its corrupted ministers putting a brave face for now. After all Pranabdaa is also cut from the same cloth CONGRESS.
he will not be a rubber stamp president, but he will be the proxy when actually sonia gandhi is managing three important posts..The Prime Minister, The President, and The UPA Chairperson. She needed a different mask for each of these three positions and the congress party and UPA, like lambs,fell on her feet and gave it up.She IS THE DECISION MAKER and Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, and Pranab Mukerji, the President, are only AUTHORISED SIGNATORIES., whether we Indians like it or not!!
How can someone who endorsed Emergency in India (because Indira Gandhi was summoned by a court) on the mere whim of a member of the Gandhi Family, safeguard the Constitution of India?
Remember the countless who died and suffered during Emergency.
I think if there is anyone who understands the nuances of this role better than everybody else, then it has to be Mr Mukherjee...
What would be interesting to see is how would he deal if there is a non-Congress Govt. at the centre!
This, even if it contains some nuggets of wisdom, is an unsolicited advice coming from one who as a journalist has never wielded power in the glare of publicity as Pranab has done for three decades. One's past baggage cannot be so easily jettisoned. Similarly, even if Pranab wishes to strike a new path, his claque will prevent him. Future is pregnant with possibilities.
The article smacks of bias against Pranab Mukherjee.Too many assumptions
were made.
There is one single word that describes this latest one to Raisina Hills....at least people of Bengal know pretty well...that this guy is "GREEDY" .
Mr Mukherjee ( now Mr President ) is COY man and will ' I presume ' not invite unpresidented and unconstitutional vocabularies from the length and breadth of the country nor he would stretch time to take any decision.
A warning shot to President Pranab from the Palace courtier . A warning
shot is a military term describing harmless artillery shot or gunshot
intended to call attention and demand some action of compliance
Zail singh should have been impeached for his deliberate and improper action. When Mrs.Gandhi was assassinated, no acting
prime minster was appointed by the then president, Zail singh.
Rajiv Gandhi was not even a MP,then, and not elected as the leader
of the congress party and still, Rajiv gandhi,a person in the wilderness, was appointed as prime minister of this great democratic
country, against all norms. This irresponsible action from the
president encouraged the goons to kill 1000 innocent lives. If we
fail to record this indecent action by the custodian of the constitution, even today, we will continue to face such ugly incidents and we will not deserve any sympathy from anywhere.
This article is an attempt by a Sonia loyalist to caution the new president against Rashtrapati Bhavan becoming a rival centre of authority. The desperation of the writer is evident when he refers to very few visits of the opposition leaders to the president office once Prathiba Patil took over in comparison during Dr APJ tenure. Everybody knew its pure waste of time to give memorandams to Mrs Patil. Even in this election, the Tirumangalam formula was played with exceptional ease which benefitted the likes of Mulayam Singh Yadav using the public exchequer. As for Pranab, what is his contribution to the nation other than serving the first family with absolute loyalty? As a traditional News paper, it would do lot of good if The Hindu restrains itself from publishing such biased articles!
At least he will not be a rubber stamp President like Ms Pratibha Patil
.. also today's politicians need a strong president..
First of all I would like to contrats him being elected for President of Indian Republic on behalf of millions of Indians who hope better change will come in Indian democratic system. Me and others expect that Mr. Mukherjee, an intelligent, experienced and trouble shooter will do things from routine affairs. He may glofify the post of President by his works. This should not only be known as Nominal Head of Republic but it should truely be actual Head of Republic of India whose directions Prime Minister will function. As contituion has been defined in such a way that post of President has become toothless lion in the forest. Mr. Mukherjee as he has been loyal to his congress party with the election to President, his loyalty now stands for Indian nation and to the people of Indian Republic. He must act in the intrest of millions of Indians who are dreaming of India with corruption free india, emplyment to all, development of the country in every field providing the benefits of developmen
I completely agree with the views expressed by Mr Tushar Deshpande.
This is a fitting reaction to the entirely misplaced and unsolicited
advice from someone who till the other day was Dr Manmohan Singh's
Press Adviser, and who had a not very happy parting of ways. One
senses that Khare has a pessimistic and totally unwarranted
apprehension of the path that the new incumbent in the Rashtrapati
Bhavan will take and has taken it upon himself to assume a lofty tone
in preaching to Mr Mukherjee. It would have been fitting if he had,
from time to time, taken the trouble to similarly preach to Sonia
Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh. It is they who needed this badly.
It should be a responsibility of every citizen to wait for pertinent
moments to comment upon various issues. In this piece , the writer
assumes too many things. Yes there are speculations to be made, but one
should definitely wait for Mr. Mukherjee to assume office and take some
actions. The arguements in the article may eventually prove to be right
but as of now it is nothing less than pre-mature.
Khares' op makes for a very sobering read. Will Pranabda rise to
the occasion and control all urges to be an activist ? Maybe so, as long
as the twin swords of Damocles ie Anna and Sangma hang over his head.
Also as a keen student of history he has seen as also played the part in
subverting any activism from Rashtrapati Bhavan.Let us hope that he does
not belie the hope invested in him by his many supporters.
Extremely well written and the one which has not taken sides on either
advocating an over active President or a lame duck President.
The role of the President is well defined in the Constitution except in
the case of a fractured mandate which might lead to an hung Parliament
during which time the President has to take a call.
This is such an excellent and timely piece. Educates the common man on the politics of power and entitlement. Also, since this is stated before the act started, the actor can take correct action. No point in writing a review once everything is done. Many congratulations and thank you, Mr. Harish.
Instead of going round about, the point that the president completely forgets his past
baggages, however valuable he considers them to be, and act in the manner in which he is
expected as per the Constitution, could have been told in a forthright manner. The present
massive humanitarian crisis in Assam is the first acid test for the new President. Let us see
how he responds to the demands of the situation.
The first reaction that forms in the mind of the reader is this is such a disappointing peace of writing. What the author wants to do is appear to be a chaste counsel to the new incumbent to the position of the first citizen of India, but ends up sounding quite like Sonia Gandhi's spokesperson and very desperate in that effort. Why does everything have to be a zero sum game, the moment something is pointed out in the Congress party's misdemeanour's and it has to be quickly equated with something that the BJP did/did not do? Will the author admit that the post of the governor has always been misused by the Congress party? Will he give the Congress party advise on how to handle that gubernatorial post?
As long the President of a country,is chosen by coterie of ruling parties, hardly he can be just and fair to the Country. President Pranab is like any other politician in the country, as he was chosen by a party which is linked with many scam charges, Yet he is expected to be judicious in his dealings. Of course he will surely represent the present day India with all its good and bad attributes! Lawyer Ram Jethmalani`s charges and Team Anna`s charges still iingering in the minds of the people-rigtly or wrongly.
Mr mukerjee has played a very dignified role during this election. As a minister, he did play A very active role all these years and in the new role, he will be in a position to play the Role of a wise counsel to the present PM and to the future Pm after 2014. It is a known Fact that in a parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is powerful and The president Is expected to play the role of a Constitutional head to sort out tricky issues to steer the Ship. The announcement made by him, immediately after the results were announced Revealed real maturity. He will definitely be a peacemaker and win the hearts of all in India.
Have the deceny not to hang the President on the basis of his background alone. Waiting till he takes any action that would fit your suspicions is the right course.
It's not Zail Singh that Pranab will immitate but Fakhuruddin Ali Ahmed. Yes!! These charlies are products of Emergency (1975 - 1977). It would not surprise me if Kamal Nath becomes the next Finance Minister (another protege of Emergency). Already half of India is under draconian AFSPA. Large pose of paramilitary forces has been raised to carry out mercenary acts. Indira Gandhi lacked mercenary forces in large numbers, this deficiency is wiped out now. The right wing BJP, Shiv Sena and left CPI & CPI(M) & sundry others are in the pocket of the corrupt ruling class. Now, vast majority of Indians are left vulnerable. Wait and watch!!!
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