Without reducing the significance of President K.R. Narayanan's decision to send back the Union Cabinet's recommendation to impose President's rule in Uttar Pradesh, which has been termed as `historic' and `landmark', one has to realise that what the President did was what was expected of him as the guardian of the Constitution. What is important to note is that the excitement, joy and hope it generated all over the country result from the frustration of the people at the consistent misuse of the Constitutional provisions by those who have been in power all these years. The people are relieved that a ``messiah'' has come at a time when public morality is at an all-time low.

It was wrong to have expected another decision from Narayanan. It is said that he acted with courage, but it is also true that he kept national interest in mind. Today, there is a greater need to defend and uphold democratic values more than ever before. It is interesting to note that his challenger in the Presidential poll, former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan, described Narayanan's decision to send back the Cabinet proposal as ``gratifying and courageous''. Seshan, during the campaign, had said that Narayanan would be a weak President and would function like a rubber stamp.

Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap was heard saying that initially the Centre was doubtful of the number of MLAs who rallied behind Kalyan Singh, but once it was convinced about the number, it did not send its recommendation to the President for a second time. Was the Law Minister suggesting that the Governor's report was inaccurate?

The original `sin' of invoking Article 356 was committed on Kerala in 1959 where a popularly elected government enjoying absolute majority (the undivided Communist Party of India) was dismissed by the Centre. Since then, this provision has been misused by all those who have come to power at the Centre.

Earlier, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh was not given an opportunity to prove its majority on the floor of the House before it was dismissed. But Narayanan, in this case, has not only acted with courage and proved that the earlier decision by his predecessor was not correct and Constitutional. There are many wrong precedents which are to be set right, instead of being followed. This was one.

Reports suggest that it was the regional parties in the United Front which forced the Cabinet to reverse its earlier decision. Not without reason: they were all victims of the misuse of Article 356 by the Centre in the past.

Other parties in the UF such as the CPI(M) said giving Kalyan Singh time to prove the majority would be encouraging horse-trading. In fact, these parties were part of the United Front that kept the UP Assembly in suspended animation for five months after the election. Could not Kalyan Singh have mustered a majority by engineering defections then?

Ironically, it is those parties that wanted to keep the communal party, the BJP, at bay which are split. And it did not take a great secular reason for their MLAs to abandon their parties.

The Congress, for instance, was not able to diagnose the rot within, leave alone stemming it. Cracks within the Congress in UP were visible after Congress President Sitaram Kesari replaced Jitendra Prasada with N.D. Tewari as the PCC chief. Why blame others if members of the Congress or other parties could be attracted by money and power?

These string of events in Lucknow also exposed another national party with great ideological pretensions. Until the last general election, the BJP had maintained that it was a national party and it would fight its battles alone. But in the last election, it forged alliances and gave up the policy of going it alone. It also had no difficulty in sharing power with other parties. The BJP firmly believed that, unlike other parties, their members would not defect. That belief exploded in Gujarat. And now, the BJP has shed its principles and values to grab power. No one is untouchable any longer and no party distinguishable.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.