Jaswant Singh: No quality control in politics

OPINION

Mr Chairman, Sir, we are resuming the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address to the Joint Session of both the Houses. I find that both the Mover of the Motion as also the seconder of the Motion, have found it inconvenient to be present in the House. Sir, that is quite a standard for the Treasury Benches. Not for that reason, but for other reasons, I am unable to lend my support to the Motion that was moved by the Maharaja of Kashmir and seconded by Raashid Alvi. It is a matter of great regret and sorrow to me that my difficulties of supporting this Motion as also the complexity of governance are compounded by the fact that the Leader of the Congress party is today acting as the principal opposition to the government.

It is a highly unusual situation that the Leader of the ruling party should communicate with the head of the government and then send those communications to the Press, selectively, of course. This is a very interesting and an unusual situation. That is why the difficulties arise. If the prime minister is following the leader, then, the difficulty arises if the followers cannot lead. And, how are we to support the Motion of the followers?

For the past many decades now, I have had the benefit of listening to Maharaja Saheb of Kashmir, who sadly is not present here. I have always been struck by the fact; rather, he seems to hold either a permanent or a seasoned ticket on the 'line of least resistance'. I have heard him justify his position no matter what the position that he is required to justify, he chooses to selectively quote one or two Sanskrit slokas to confound us all. But, whenever the "Opportunity Express" comes his way, the Maharaja Saheb of Kashmir is always on it...

[Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Priyaranjan Dasmunshi: We have data on Dr Karan Singh, who sacrificed his Maharajaship during Mrs Indira Gandhi's tenure on bank nationalisation and abolition of privy purses. It is a historic act...(interruptions). He is the only Maharaja who did not join the bandwagon, and accepted the law of the land.

Jaswant Singh: Sir, I hope you would not mind me saying that if Nawab Sahebs can be Nawabs, if Maulanas can be Maulvis and if Bhairon Singh Danusujji can be Thakurs, then, Maharaja Kashmir can certainly be the Maharaja of Kashmir.]

As I was saying, I found this remarkable ability in Maharaja Saheb of Kashmir that he is always on the "Opportunity Express", no matter which Opportunity Express it is. But you just peel off the ribbons and the rest of the covering, then, in the "Guinness phrases of compromise", you will find nothing. I will give two examples. First of all, his speech comprised of sentiments, as if this government has rediscovered the wheel. I was astonished when he termed the 9 per cent growth rate of the country as a sacred growth rate. I felt astonished. And I do not know whether to call it sick or whether to call it sycophantic, but the growth rate of the country is the compound of everyone's effort; And, thereafter, for him to say that the meeting between the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India was a structured meeting. But it was not the first ever, Sir. The first ever meeting goes long back, quite a few years back. I do not want to reduce it to the first person, singular, so, I was not convinced by what he sai d. And, as for the Seconder of the Motion, when I heard him, declaiming his views with fluent insincerity, I could not help but reflect, Sir, that is it a good or a bad thing that we no longer have quality control in politics.

(This is an excerpt from the speech made by the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh, on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's Address on March 6, 2007)